JP2014133424A - Raindrop detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a raindrop detection device capable of setting an operation mode of a wiper device according to an inclination angle of a window glass.SOLUTION: In a rain sensor 3 equipped with a microcomputer 30 detecting the amount of raindrops adhered to an outer surface of a window glass 1 and controlling the wiper device 2 according to the amount of the raindrops, the microcomputer 20 is provided with raindrop detecting means 20 for detecting the amount of the raindrops on the basis of output according to the reflectance of light emitted to an inner surface of the window glass 1, and an operation mode setting portion 34 for setting an operation mode of the wiper device 2 according to an inclination angle of the windowglass 1 determined by a vehicle ID possessed by a vehicle and stored in a frame transmitted by CAN8 communication. Therefore, the inclination angle of the window glass 1 which is a wiping object of the wiper device 2 can be accurately identified.

Description

  The present invention relates to a raindrop detection device that detects the amount of raindrops adhering to the outer surface of a window glass, and more particularly to a raindrop detection device that controls an operation mode of a wiper device in accordance with the detected amount of raindrops.

Conventionally, a raindrop detection device that detects the amount of raindrops attached to the outer surface of the window glass has been provided, and the operation mode such as the wiper speed and intermittent time of the wiper device is automatically controlled according to the amount of raindrops detected by this raindrop detection device. What to do is known.
The communication device between the devices of Patent Document 1 includes a raindrop detection device and a wiper device that performs a wiping operation according to the amount of raindrops detected by the raindrop detection device. To one of the raindrop detection device and the wiper device Communication means for transmitting a unidirectional signal, a transmission means for short-circuiting the potential of the unidirectional signal provided on the one apparatus side, and a short-circuited signal provided on the other apparatus side Recognizing means for recognizing information transmitted from the one device to the other device is provided.
In this raindrop detection device, a light emitting element (LED) that projects light onto a detection region set on the inner surface of the window glass, a parallel light lens that redirects light projected from the light emitting element in parallel, A condensing lens that redirects and focuses light reflected from the outer boundary surface between the window glass and the external space, and a light receiving element that outputs a detection signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the converging lens. (Photodiode) etc. are provided, and the raindrop amount is calculated based on the decrease amount of the received light amount that is reduced by the raindrops from the received light amount in the clear state.

Such a wiper device with an automatic control function includes a wiper device and a raindrop detection device including a wiper control unit, and is often set as an optional device that allows the user to arbitrarily select the raindrop detection device.
In car makers, the same raindrop detection device is used not only for one model but also for other models. There is also a case where the user independently adds a raindrop detection device from a specific vehicle type to another vehicle type to add an automatic control function to the wiper device.
In recent years, with the aim of improving user convenience, a technology that enables automatic control of in-vehicle devices such as headlights to be customized according to the user's sense is also known.

  The in-vehicle device setting system of Patent Document 2 includes a vehicle-side unit having a headlight, an illuminance sensor, and a control unit, a customization device outside the vehicle, and the like. When the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor becomes smaller than the sensor threshold without inadvertently changing the sensor threshold by performing transfer of the desired change value after decryption through a removable nonvolatile memory. The control means automatically turns on the headlight.

Japanese Patent No. 4134967 Patent 4798546

The communication device between the devices of Patent Document 1 is configured such that the communication means transmits a signal from the raindrop detection device to the wiper device through a single transmission line, so that the communication means can be simplified and suitable for raindrop detection. The amount of raindrops adhering to the outer surface of the wind glass can be detected by specifying the period.
However, as described below, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 may not be able to sufficiently match the user's feeling.

Generally, a wiper device with an automatic control function detects the amount of raindrops adhering to the outer surface of the window glass, and when this amount of raindrops exceeds a predetermined amount (for example, the raindrop adhesion rate is 2%), it adheres to the outer surface of the windglass due to rain. It is determined that there is. When it is determined that raindrops are attached to the outer surface of the window glass, the operation mode of the wiper device is automatically controlled according to the detected amount of raindrops.
However, the amount of raindrops that adhere to the outer surface of the windglass differs depending on the inclination angle of the installed windglass, and even if the amount of raindrops that adhere to the outer surface of the windglass is the same amount, It is considered that the apparent density of raindrops entering (hereinafter referred to as the apparent raindrop density) is different.
Therefore, the present inventor conducted a verification experiment by simulation on the correlation between the inclination angle of the wind glass, the raindrop adhesion rate, and the apparent density of the raindrops.

As a first verification, the inclination angle of the window glass was changed, and the relationship between each inclination angle and the raindrop adhesion rate was simulated. In this verification, the raindrop density in the traveling space was set to 0.04 / mm ³ , the raindrop falling speed was set to 6 m / s, and the moving speed of the vehicle was set to 30 km / h.
FIG. 14 shows the correlation between the inclination angle of the wind glass and the raindrop adhesion rate. For convenience, the raindrop adhesion rate when the inclination angle of the window glass is 40 degrees was set to 1.00 as an evaluation reference value.
As shown in FIG. 14, it can be seen that as the inclination angle of the window glass decreases, the raindrop adhesion rate attached to the outer surface of the window glass increases. For example, when the inclination angle of the window glass is 20 degrees, the raindrop adhesion rate is 1.23.

As a second verification, the inclination angle of the window glass was changed, and the relationship between each inclination angle and the apparent raindrop density was simulated. In this verification, the actual raindrop density attached to the outer surface of the wind glass was set to 0.04 / mm ² .
FIG. 15 shows the correlation between the inclination angle of the wind glass and the apparent raindrop density.
As shown in FIG. 15, it can be seen that the apparent raindrop density as seen by the user increases as the inclination angle of the window glass decreases. For example, when the inclination angle of the wind glass is 20 degrees, the apparent raindrop density is 0.12 pieces / mm ² , and when the inclination angle of the window glass is 40 degrees, the apparent raindrop density is 0.06 pieces / mm ² . is there.

In other words, when a car manufacturer diverts the same raindrop detection device not only to one model but also to other models, or the user has independently changed the raindrop detection device from a specific model to another model with different specifications. ), The apparent raindrop density entering the user's field of view changes depending on the tilt angle of the windshield, so the user may feel uncomfortable with the operation of the wiper device, and in some cases, the forward visibility of the user may be reduced. is there.
Although it is conceivable to customize the operation mode of the wiper device according to the inclination angle of the wind glass by the technique of Patent Document 2, since the customization device outside the vehicle is required, the equipment becomes large and the problem of cost There is a risk of inviting.

  The objective of this invention is providing the raindrop detection apparatus which can set the operation | movement aspect of a wiper apparatus according to the inclination-angle of a window glass.

  The raindrop detection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that detects a raindrop amount attached to an outer surface of the window glass and controls a wiper device in accordance with the raindrop amount, wherein the control unit includes at least a window. The raindrop amount detection unit that detects the amount of raindrops based on the output corresponding to the reflected light of the light irradiated on the inner surface of the glass, and the inclination angle of the window glass determined based on the vehicle type information held by the vehicle An operation mode setting unit that sets an operation mode of the wiper device is provided.

  In the raindrop detection device according to the first aspect, the raindrop amount detection unit detects the raindrop amount based on the output corresponding to the reflected light of the light irradiated on the inner surface of the window glass. It can be detected well, and since the operation mode setting unit determines the inclination angle of the window glass based on the vehicle type information, the inclination angle of the window glass that is the object to be wiped by the wiper device can be accurately identified.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the control means is connected to the wiper device so that CAN communication is possible via a vehicle body side control means.

  The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the operation mode setting section has a correlation map between the inclination angle of the window glass and the operation mode correction value of the wiper device.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the wiper device is configured such that at least one of a wiping speed and an intermittent period can be changed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inclination angle of the wind glass that is the object to be wiped by the wiper device can be accurately identified. The operation mode of the apparatus can be set, and the uncomfortable feeling given to the user can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the control means can acquire the vehicle type information using the data frame of the CAN that connects the in-vehicle control mechanism so as to be capable of multiplex communication, the structure can be simplified.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the operation mode setting unit has a correlation map between the inclination angle of the window glass and the operation mode correction value of the wiper device, the operation mode correction of the wiper device can be executed easily and quickly.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the forward visibility of the user can be kept good regardless of the vehicle type.

It is a block diagram of the communication system of the motor vehicle based on Example 1 of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the vehicle body front from the vehicle interior. It is a control circuit diagram which shows the electrical structure which concerns on a wiper apparatus, a rain sensor, and a wiper switch. It is a perspective view of a rain sensor. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a rain sensor. It is explanatory drawing which shows the raindrop detection principle of a wind glass. It is a graph which shows the correlation with a raindrop adhesion rate and the output of a raindrop detection means. It is a wiping speed map at the time of auto mode control. It is an intermittent time map at the time of auto mode control. It is a wiping correction value map at the time of auto mode control. It is a graph which shows the correlation with a window glass inclination angle and an apparent raindrop density correction value. It is a window glass inclination angle determination table. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which concerns on a wiper control process. It is a graph which shows the correlation with the inclination-angle of a window glass, and a raindrop adhesion rate. It is a graph which shows the correlation with the inclination angle of a window glass, and an apparent raindrop density.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described based on examples.

Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a front window glass (hereinafter referred to as a window glass) 1, a wiper blade (not shown) for wiping raindrops and dirt adhering to the outer surface of the window glass 1, a wiper motor 2 a, etc. As an example, a description will be given of a vehicle V including a wiper device 2 configured by the above, a rain sensor 3 (raindrop detection device), and the like.

First, a basic communication system of the automobile V will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automobile V includes a body control module (hereinafter referred to as BCM) 4, an engine control module (hereinafter referred to as ECM) 5, a brake control mechanism 6, and a head. A light control mechanism (Adaptive Front-Lighting System: AFS) 7 and the like are provided, and these control mechanisms 4 to 7 are connected to each other by a CAN (Controller Area Network) 8 so as to be able to transmit and receive each other.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the BCM 4 (vehicle body side control means) is configured to be able to comprehensively control a plurality of devices such as the wiper device 2 (wiper motor 2 a) and the rain sensor 3. The first relay circuit 10 and the second relay circuit 11 are provided. When the first relay circuit 10 is turned on and the second relay circuit 11 is turned off, the wiper motor 2a is driven at a low speed, and when the first relay circuit 10 is turned off and the second relay circuit 11 is turned on, the wiper motor 2a is driven at high speed.

  The microcomputer 9 is output from a CPU that performs control processing and arithmetic processing, a read-only memory (ROM) for storing various data such as various programs and control coefficients, each control mechanism 4 to 7 and a plurality of sensors. A memory (RAM) in which various data can be written, a power supply circuit, and the like (not shown). The microcomputer 9 converts a control signal from a microcomputer 30 to be described later and transmits the control signal to the wiper device 2.

The ECM 5 is configured to be able to control an engine ignition mechanism, a fuel injection device, an intake / exhaust system, a valve mechanism, start control, and the like based on a plurality of sensor outputs (all not shown).
The brake control mechanism 6 is configured to be able to control a mechanism (Antilock Brake System) that avoids a collision while applying a sudden brake and a mechanism (Dynamic Stability Control) that prevents understeer and oversteer during vehicle turning (any one) (Not shown).
The AFS 7 is configured such that the direction of a headlight (not shown) formed to be tiltable can be changed to a direction suitable for the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle V based on the steering angle and the vehicle speed.

The CAN 8 connects the control mechanisms 4 to 7 via the CAN bus 8a so that multiplex communication is possible, and performs bus access control by a multi-master method in which data is transmitted in units of frames (not shown). In each frame, an arbitration ID and a vehicle ID (vehicle type information) corresponding to the model of the automobile V are set in advance for each frame. The smaller the arbitration ID, the higher the priority for flowing the frame to the CAN bus 8a. Has been.
A design specification (for example, an inclination angle, an area, a shape, and the like of the window glass 1) of components of the automobile V is uniquely associated with the model of the automobile V.
Communication signals output from the control mechanisms 4 to 7 and various sensors are stored in the data field of the frame and transmitted to the respective transmission destinations via the CAN bus 8a.

Next, the wiper device 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the wiper device 2 includes a wiper blade, a wiper arm (not shown), a wiper motor 2a, an automatic stop switch 2b, etc., and each of them is manually operated by the user on the wiper switch 12 (see FIG. 2). The mode control is configured to be executable.
The auto stop switch 2b is a rotation maintaining circuit, and when the user turns off the wiper switch 12, if the wiper blade has not reached the lower reverse position (stop position), the current supply to the wiper motor 2a is continued. Then, the wiper blade is stopped at the stop position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper switch 12 is provided on a side portion of the steering 13 and is configured to be movable in stages in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the wiper switch 12 is manually operated to change the electrical connection to the OFF position 12a, the MIST position 12b, the AUTO position 12c, the LOW position 12d, and the HIGH position 12e. Each mode control can be switched.
The wiper switch 12 is set to the OFF position 12a by the user's off operation when it is not raining. When the wiper switch 12 is operated from the OFF position 12a to the MIST position 12b, after the wiper device 2 executes the mist mode control in which the window glass 1 is wiped only once, the wiper switch 12 is automatically operated by the biasing force of the compression spring. Is returned to the OFF position 12a.

When the wiper switch 12 is operated from the OFF position 12a to the AUTO position 12c, the wiper device 2 is set to auto mode control that performs an intermittent wiping operation according to the amount of raindrops. An intermittent time setting section 12f (automatic volume) capable of manually setting the intermittent time of the intermittent wiping operation is provided at the tip end portion of the wiper switch 12. The intermittent time setting unit 12f is configured to be able to set the intermittent time by adjusting the amount of rotation of the wiper switch 12 around the axis.
When the wiper switch 12 is operated from the OFF position 12a to the LOW position 12d, the first relay circuit 10 is turned on and the second relay circuit 11 is turned off at the same time. First continuous wiping mode control for performing the wiping operation is set. When the wiper switch 12 is operated from the OFF position 12a to the HIGH position 12e, since the first relay circuit 10 is turned off and the second relay circuit 11 is turned on at the same time, the wiper device 2 is faster than the first continuous wiping mode control. The second continuous wiping mode control for performing the continuous wiping operation is set.

Next, the rain sensor 3 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the rain sensor 3 is detachably mounted at a position facing the raindrop detection region set in front of the room mirror 14 and at the upper end of the outer surface of the window glass 1. Therefore, by electrically connecting the rain sensor 3 and the BCM 4 to the vehicle V having different design specifications such as the inclination angle of the window glass 1 and the vehicle body dimensions, the rain sensor 3 can be arbitrarily attached later. It is.
The rain sensor 3 includes four sets of raindrop detection means 20, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) 30 (control means), a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 3a that can accommodate these.

As shown in FIG. 4, since the four sets of raindrop detection means 20 have the same configuration, the one set of raindrop detection means 20 will be mainly described.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the raindrop detection means 20 includes a light projecting unit 22, a light projecting unit control unit 23 that controls the light projecting unit 22, a parallel light lens 24, a condensing lens 25, A light receiving unit 26 and a light receiving unit control unit 27 for controlling the light receiving unit 26 are provided.

The light projecting unit 22 is formed by a light emitting element (for example, an LED), and is configured to be able to irradiate infrared rays α to a portion corresponding to the raindrop detection region on the inner surface of the window glass 1.
The light projecting unit control unit 23 is configured to be able to control the operation timing of the light projecting unit 22 and the irradiation amount (intensity) of the infrared ray α based on a control signal from the microcomputer 30.
As shown in FIG. 6, the parallel light lens 24 has a convex surface on the light projecting portion 22 side and a flat surface on the wind glass 1 side, and the traveling direction of the infrared rays α irradiated from the light projecting portion 22. Is changed from the diffusion direction to the parallel direction. In this parallel light lens 24, when raindrops W are attached to the outer surface of the wind glass 1, the infrared rays α irradiated from the light projecting unit 22 are totally reflected from the outer boundary surface between the raindrops W and the external space. The inclination angle and the like are set so that infrared rays α pass through the window glass 1 when no raindrops W are attached to the outer surface.

The condensing lens 25 is formed such that the surface on the window glass 1 side is convex and the surface on the light receiving unit 26 side is flat. Since the infrared rays α reflected from the outer boundary surface of the raindrop W all travel in parallel, the condenser lens 25 parallels the traveling direction of the infrared rays α so that these parallel infrared rays α are concentrated on the light receiving unit 26. The direction is changed from the direction to the focusing direction.
The light receiving unit 26 is configured by an imaging element (for example, CCD), and is configured to be able to detect the amount of reflected light of the infrared ray α reflected from the outer boundary surface of the raindrop W attached to the outer surface of the window glass 1. The light receiving unit control unit 27 is configured to be able to control the light receiving sensitivity, focus, and the like of the light receiving unit 26 based on the control signal from the microcomputer 30, and the reflected light amount detection signal of the infrared ray α detected by the light receiving unit 26 to the microcomputer 30. Output.

Here, the raindrop detection principle of the raindrop detection means 20 will be briefly described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the raindrop W is formed in a flat shape due to the influence of the hydrophilic characteristics of the wind glass 1 and gravity. The parallel light lens 24 has an inclination angle or the like so that the infrared ray α irradiated from the light projecting unit 22 is totally reflected from the curved outer boundary surface between the raindrop W and the external space. Therefore, in the portion where the raindrops W are not attached to the outer surface of the window glass 1, since the infrared ray α irradiated from the light projecting unit 22 passes through the window glass 1, no reflected light is generated. Further, in the portion where the raindrops W are dropped and the flat raindrops W adhere to the outer surface of the window glass 1, the infrared rays α transmitted through the window glass 1 are totally reflected from the outer boundary surface between the raindrops W and the external space. Is done. Thereby, the raindrop detection means 20 detects the amount of reflected light of the infrared ray α which is the reflected light from the outer surface of the raindrop W.

Next, the microcomputer 30 will be described.
The microcomputer 30 is configured to be able to detect the amount of raindrops adhering to the outer surface of the window glass 1 on the basis of the amount of reflected infrared α detected by the raindrop detection means 20.
The microcomputer 30 changes the wiping characteristic of the wiper device 2 by outputting a command signal related to the operation mode of the wiper device 2 to the microcomputer 9.
As shown in FIG. 5, the microcomputer 30 is configured by a control base including a raindrop detection processing unit 31, a raindrop amount measurement unit 32 (raindrop amount detection unit), an auto wiper determination unit 33, and an operation mode setting unit 34. The light projecting unit control unit 23 and the light receiving unit control unit 27 are electrically connected.

The raindrop detection processing unit 31 calculates an average output for the output of each reflected light received by the four sets of light receiving units 26, and sets this average output as an output x.
As shown in FIG. 7, since the deposition rate of raindrops W on the window glass 1 is proportional to the output x, the raindrop amount measurement unit 42 uses the raindrop detection processing unit 41 based on this correlation. The set output x is converted into an adhesion rate X (%).
Here, the adhesion rate X of the raindrop detection means 20 converted from the output x is set to 0% when there is no raindrop W adhering to the window glass 1, and the raindrop W adheres to the entire surface of the window glass 1. Is set so that the adhesion rate is 100%.
In FIG. 7, the output x is not output below a predetermined raindrop adhesion rate (for example, 1.0%) because of the detection accuracy of the raindrop detection means 20.

  The raindrop amount measuring unit 32 measures the amount of raindrops adhering to the window glass 1 based on the increase width of the average output of each reflected light received by the four sets of light receiving units 26 of the raindrop detecting means 20. The raindrop amount measured based on the output value of the raindrop detection means 20 corresponds to the raindrop amount detected by the rain sensor 3. In this embodiment, it is determined that there are raindrops due to rain when the adhesion rate X is 2% or more in consideration of external factors and the like.

The auto wiper determination unit 33 determines whether or not the user has operated the wiper switch 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) to select the auto mode control.
The operation mode setting unit 34 changes the operation mode of the wiper device 2 based on the basic function of controlling the wiper device 2 according to the mode control selected by the user and the raindrop amount detected by the rain sensor 3 in the auto mode control. And an operation mode changing function.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the operation mode setting unit 34 includes a wiping speed map M1, an intermittent time map M2, and a wiping correction value map M3 that are used when the auto mode control is selected.
As shown in FIG. 8, the wiping speed map M <b> 1 sets a correlation between the raindrop amount detected by the rain sensor 3 and the wiping speed of the wiper device 2.
The wiping speed of the wiper device 2 is increased according to the amount of raindrops up to the raindrop amount L1 so as to be adapted to the automobile V with the inclination angle of the wind glass 1 being 40 degrees, and the wiping speed characteristic V1 is made constant at the raindrop amount L1 or more. Are stored in advance.

As shown in FIG. 9, the intermittent time map M <b> 2 sets a correlation between the raindrop amount detected by the rain sensor 3 and the intermittent time of the wiper device 2.
The intermittent time of the wiper device 2 decreases to the raindrop amount L1 according to the amount of raindrops so that the inclination angle of the window glass 1 is 40 degrees, and the intermittent time becomes zero when the raindrop amount L1 or more. The characteristic T1 is stored in advance.

As shown in FIG. 10, the wiping correction value map M <b> 3 sets a correlation between the inclination angle of the window glass 1 and the wiping correction value (operation mode correction value) of the wiper device 2.
The wiping correction value is calculated by the product of the raindrop adhesion rate correction value obtained for each inclination angle of the window glass 1 and the apparent raindrop density correction value.
As the raindrop adhesion rate correction value, the value of the raindrop adhesion rate shown in the graph of FIG. 14 is used.
As shown in FIG. 11, the apparent raindrop density correction value is a value obtained by converting the graph of FIG. 15 so that the apparent raindrop density becomes 1 when the inclination angle of the window glass 1 is 40 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 12, the operation mode setting unit 34 includes a plurality of vehicle IDs and an inclination angle determination table that defines the inclination angle of the window glass 1 corresponding to each vehicle ID.
Since the model of the automobile V and the design specification (inclination angle) of the window glass 1 of the own vehicle are uniquely associated, by referring to this inclination angle determination table, each control mechanism 4 to 7 via the CAN bus 8a. The inclination angle of the window glass 1 of the own vehicle can be determined by the vehicle ID transmitted in this manner.

Next, the wiper control process will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. Si (i = 1, 2,...) Indicates a step for each process.
First, it is determined whether or not the ignition of the automobile V is on (S1). If the ignition is not on, S1 is repeated.
When the ignition is in the on state, the process proceeds to S2, and it is determined whether or not the wiper switch 12 is in the on state other than the off operation. If the wiper switch 12 is not in the ON state, S2 is repeated.

When the wiper switch 12 is in the on state, the process proceeds to S3, and it is determined whether or not the auto mode control is set. When the auto mode control is not set, the process proceeds to S8, the mode control other than the auto mode control set by the user is executed, and the process returns.
When the auto mode control is set, the process proceeds to S4, and it is determined whether or not a wiping correction value is set.

If the wiping correction value has already been set according to the determination in S4, the process proceeds to S5 to determine whether or not a raindrop has been detected. If no raindrop is detected in S5, S5 is repeated.
If raindrops are detected in the determination of S5, the process proceeds to S6, and it is determined whether or not the wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time characteristic corresponding to the wiping correction value are set.
If the wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time characteristic corresponding to the wiping correction value are already set according to the determination in S6, the auto mode control is executed according to the set wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time characteristic (S7), and the process returns. .

  If the wiping correction value is not set by the determination in S4, the process proceeds to S9, and the inclination angle of the window glass 1 of the own vehicle is determined with reference to the inclination angle determination table shown in FIG. For example, when the rain sensor 3 is changed from a vehicle V having a tilt angle of 40 degrees to a vehicle V having a tilt angle of 20 degrees, the vehicle ID stored in the transmitted CAN communication frame is A to B. Therefore, the inclination angle of the window glass 1 of the own vehicle is determined based on the change of the vehicle ID. In this embodiment, the wiping correction value is canceled when the electrical connection between the rain sensor 3 and the BCM 4 is interrupted.

Next, the process proceeds to S10, and after setting a new wiping correction value based on the inclination angle of the window glass 1 of the host vehicle and the wiping correction value map M3 (see FIG. 10), the process proceeds to S5.
If the wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time characteristic corresponding to the wiping correction value are not set according to the determination in S6, the process proceeds to S11, and the new wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time are based on the inclination angle of the window glass 1 of the vehicle. Set characteristics. For example, in S10, when the inclination angle of the window glass 1 is newly set to 20 degrees as the rain sensor 3 is replaced, the wiping correction value becomes 2.46 according to the wiping correction value map M3. As shown in FIG. 9, the wiping speed characteristic V1 and the intermittent time characteristic T1 with an inclination angle of 40 degrees are set to the wiping speed characteristic V2 and the intermittent time characteristic T2 so that the wiping ability is 2.46 times, and the process goes to S7. Transition.

Next, operations and effects of the rain sensor 3 according to the first embodiment will be described.
According to the rain sensor 3, the inclination angle of the wind glass 1 that is the object to be wiped by the wiper device 2 can be accurately identified. Therefore, the inclination angle of the wind glass 1 is maintained regardless of the type of the vehicle V to be mounted. Accordingly, the operation mode of the wiper device 2 can be set, and the uncomfortable feeling given to the user can be prevented.

Since the microcomputer 30 is connected to the wiper apparatus 2 via the BCM 4 so that CAN8 communication is possible, the microcomputer 30 can acquire the vehicle ID using the data frame of the CAN8, and the structure can be simplified.
Since the operation mode setting unit 34 has the wiping correction value map M3, the operation mode correction of the wiper device 2 can be executed easily and quickly.
Since the wiper device 2 is configured such that at least one of the wiping speed and the intermittent period can be changed, the forward visibility of the user can be kept good regardless of the vehicle type.

Next, a modification in which the above embodiment is partially changed will be described.
1) In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the wiping speed characteristic and the intermittent time characteristic are changed according to the inclination angle of the window glass has been described, but any operation is controlled as long as it is an aspect related to the operation of the wiper device such as raindrop determination. You may do it. In the case of raindrop determination, the smaller the inclination angle of the window glass, the smaller the value of the adhesion rate for determining that there is raindrop due to rain.
Further, the operating range of the intermittent time setting unit may be automatically changed according to the inclination angle of the window glass. In this case, the lower limit value of the intermittent time is decreased as the inclination angle of the window glass is smaller, and the upper limit value of the intermittent time is increased as the inclination angle of the window glass is larger.

2] In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the wiping correction value corresponding to the single inclination angle of the window glass is used has been described. However, the wiping correction value of the wiping correction value map has an adjustment range of about ± 0.2. A wiping correction value area may be set, learning may be performed according to user operation characteristics, and a wiping correction value map suitable for the user characteristics may be set.

3) In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the raindrop detecting means includes the light receiving unit composed of the CCD has been described. However, any mechanism that can detect raindrops may be used, and a photo die auto may be used. It is also possible to calculate the amount of raindrops by performing image processing on the raindrops attached to the window glass.

4) In addition, those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various forms added with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention includes such modifications. is there.

  The present invention provides a raindrop detection device that controls a wiper device in accordance with the amount of raindrop detected by the raindrop detection device, and includes an operation mode setting unit that sets an operation mode of the wiper device based on vehicle type information. The operation | movement aspect of the wiper apparatus according to the inclination-angle of glass can be set.

1 Wind Glass 2 Wiper Device 3 Rain Sensor 4 BCM
8 CAN
8a CAN bus 20 raindrop detection means 30 microcomputer 32 raindrop amount measuring unit 34 operation mode setting unit M3 wiping correction value map

Claims (4)

In the raindrop detection device comprising a control means for detecting the amount of raindrops adhering to the outer surface of the wind glass and controlling the wiper device according to the amount of raindrops,
The control means includes at least a raindrop amount detection unit that detects a raindrop amount based on an output corresponding to reflected light of light applied to the inner surface of the window glass, and a window determined based on vehicle type information held by the vehicle. A raindrop detection apparatus comprising: an operation mode setting unit that sets an operation mode of the wiper device in accordance with an inclination angle of the glass.   The raindrop detection device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is connected to the wiper device so that CAN (Controller Area Network) communication is possible via a vehicle body side control unit.   The raindrop detection device according to claim 1, wherein the operation mode setting unit has a correlation map between an inclination angle of the window glass and an operation mode correction value of the wiper device. The raindrop detection device according to claim 1, wherein the wiper device is configured to be capable of changing at least one of a wiping speed and an intermittent period.