JP2017159893A - Wiper system and wiper system control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve synchronous control of a front wiper and a rear wiper without increasing a control load.SOLUTION: A wiper system 1 comprises a front wiper 11 and a rear wiper 12. The front wiper 11 is driven by a front wiper motor 7, and the rear wiper 12 is driven by a rear wiper motor 17. The front wiper motor 7 is controlled by a controller 10, and the rear wiper motor 17 is controlled by a controller 50. The controllers 10, 50 comprise (front/rear) wiper control parts 41, 55. The control parts 41, 55 mutually transmit and receive position information of a wiper blade via a signal line 51. The controllers 10, 50 refer to other side wiper blade position information, drive the own side wiper motor, and perform synchronous control of both wipers 11, 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle wiper system, and more particularly, to a wiper system for synchronously controlling operations of a front wiper and a rear wiper in a vehicle equipped with a rear wiper, and a method for controlling the wiper system.

  In general, in a vehicle wiper system mounted on an automobile or the like, a wiper blade disposed on a wiping surface is operated by an electric motor. For example, in a front wiper for an automobile, a configuration in which two wiper blades on the driver's seat side (DR side) and the passenger seat side (AS side) are operated synchronously by one electric motor + link mechanism is widely used. . In recent automobiles, a wiper device is often attached to the rear window, and such a rear wiper is also driven by an electric motor.

  In such a vehicle with a rear wiper, an onboard electronic control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit) sends drive signals to the front wiper and rear wiper drive circuits based on user switch-on information, The wiper device is operated by separate control. However, when the front wiper and the rear wiper are operated separately, the user may feel visual stress due to the movement of the wiper separately, and auditory stress where the sound during operation and reversal can be heard individually. For this reason, a control form that synchronizes the operations of the front wiper and the rear wiper has been proposed as an improvement means. Patent Document 1 describes a wiper system that performs synchronous control of a front wiper and a rear wiper, in which an operation signal is transmitted from the wiper control unit to each of the front wiper and the rear wiper, and the wiper cycle of the rear wiper is set to the front wiper. Synchronize with.

DE10303998A1

  However, when synchronously controlling the front wiper and the rear wiper, it is necessary to provide a control circuit for driving the front wiper and the rear wiper in the host ECU, and software for exclusive use of the synchronization control is separately required. Further, in order to synchronize both wipers, it is necessary to acquire the position information of each wiper, and after acquiring the wiper position information, the host ECU sends a control signal to the wiper motor based on the information. For this reason, the amount of calculation processing in the host ECU increases, the transmission path of the control signal becomes complicated and long, and the control load on the host ECU may increase.

  On the other hand, in recent years, a control mode in which the rear wiper is operated in accordance with the situation of the vehicle, such as switching to a back gear, has been studied. However, also in this case, it is difficult to operate the rear wiper in synchronization with the front wiper. In such a control mode, when controlling the rear wiper motor, a controller for synchronizing with the vehicle situation is required, but in many vehicles, the host ECU takes charge of it, and the host ECU obtains switch information and the like. Based on this, the rear wiper motor is operated. For this reason, the control mode in which the front wiper and the rear wiper are synchronously controlled in synchronization with the vehicle situation has a problem of software and control burden as described above, and is difficult to be realized in the current system.

  An object of the present invention is to realize synchronous control of a front wiper and a rear wiper without increasing a control burden.

  The wiper system of the present invention includes a first wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the first wiping surface, and an upper that is set on the second wiping surface. A second wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between a reversing position and a lower reversing position, a first motor for reciprocating the first wiper blade, and a reciprocating wiping of the second wiper blade A wiper system having a first motor driving circuit for driving the first motor and a first wiper for controlling the first motor driving circuit. A first wiper control device including a control unit, a second motor drive circuit connected to the first wiper control device via a signal line for driving the second motor, and the second motor drive Second power to control the circuit A wiper control unit, a signal transmission / reception unit provided in each of the first and second wiper control devices and connected to each other by the signal line, and the first and second wiper control devices. The second wiper control device acquires position information of the other wiper blade via the signal transmitting / receiving unit, and operates the first and second wiper blades in synchronization with each other.

  In the present invention, a wiper system having first and second wiper blades includes a first wiper control device that controls the operation of the first wiper blade, and a second wiper system that controls the operation of the second wiper blade. A wiper control device is provided. Each of the first and second wiper control devices has a signal transmission / reception unit connected to each other by a signal line, and the first and second wiper control devices communicate with each other the position information of the other wiper blade via the signal transmission / reception unit While acquiring the above, synchronize the wiper blade on its own side. As a result, the first and second wiper blades can be synchronously controlled without increasing the control burden of the host electronic control device.

  In the wiper system, the first motor is provided with first blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the first wiper blade, and the second motor is configured to detect the position of the second wiper blade. Blade position detecting means is provided, and the first wiper control unit receives the position information of the first wiper blade detected by the first blade position detecting means from the signal transmitting / receiving unit via the signal line. The second wiper control unit transmits the position information of the second wiper blade detected by the second blade position detection means from the signal transmission / reception unit. The signal is transmitted to the first wiper control unit of the first wiper control device via the signal line, and the first wiper control unit transmits the position information of the first wiper blade and the second wiper blade. Based on the positional information of the second wiper blade sent from the wiper control unit, a control signal for driving the first motor is sent to the first motor drive circuit, and the first wiper blade Is operated in synchronization with the second wiper blade, and the second wiper control unit is configured to provide the positional information of the second wiper blade and the first wiper blade sent from the first wiper control unit. Based on the position information, a control signal for driving the second motor is sent to the second motor drive circuit, and the second wiper blade is operated in synchronization with the first wiper blade. May be.

  In the wiper system, the first and second wiper control units may move the wiper blade of the other party at the upper reversal position or the lower reversal position based on the position information of the other wiper blade. It may be operated simultaneously with the wiper blade. By matching the operation start timings of the first and second wiper blades, wiper noise can be reduced and user stress can be reduced.

  Further, the first and second wiper control units may operate the first and second wiper blades in synchronization based on vehicle status information of a vehicle on which the wiper system is mounted. In this case, the first wiper control device is connected to an electronic control device disposed above the first wiper control device via a signal line, and the first and second wiper control units are connected to the electronic control device. The first and second wiper blades may be operated in synchronization based on the vehicle status information acquired from the above.

  The electronic control device acquires whether or not to switch to a back gear as the vehicle status information, and the first and second wiper control units are configured such that the operation switch of the first wiper blade is ON and the back gear is When the switch to is performed, the second motor may be driven to operate the second wiper blade regardless of the state of the operation switch of the second wiper blade. Further, the electronic control device acquires the presence or absence of a brake operation as the vehicle status information, and the first and second wiper control units are configured such that the operation switches of the first and second wiper blades are ON, When the brake is operated, the second wiper blade may be operated in synchronization with the first wiper blade.

  In addition, in the wiper system, the first wiping surface is a vehicle windshield, the second wiping surface is a vehicle rear glass, and the first wiper blade is reciprocated on the windshield. The second wiper blade is a rear wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation on the rear glass, and the first motor reciprocates the front wiper blade on the front glass. The wiper may be a front wiper motor, and the second motor may be a rear wiper motor that reciprocally wipes the rear wiper blade on the rear glass.

  On the other hand, the wiper system control method of the present invention includes a first wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the first wiping surface, and a second wiping surface. A second wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between a set upper reversal position and a lower reversal position, a first motor for reciprocating the first wiper blade, and the second wiper A wiper system control method for wiping the first and second wiping surfaces using a second motor for reciprocating a blade, wherein the wiper system is for driving the first motor. A first wiper control device including a first motor drive circuit and a first wiper control unit that controls the first motor drive circuit, and is connected to the first wiper control device via a signal line; To drive the second motor A second wiper control device including a second motor drive circuit and a second wiper control unit that controls the second motor drive circuit, and is provided in each of the first and second wiper control devices. A signal transmitting / receiving unit connected to each other by the signal line, and the first and second wiper control devices acquire the position information of the other wiper blade via the signal transmitting / receiving unit, and The first and second wiper blades are synchronized to wipe the first and second wiping surfaces, respectively.

  In the wiper system control method, the first motor is provided with first blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the first wiper blade, and the second motor is detected with the position of the second wiper blade. A second blade position detecting unit is provided, and the first wiper control unit receives the position information of the first wiper blade detected by the first blade position detecting unit from the signal transmitting / receiving unit via the signal line. The second wiper control unit transmits the second wiper blade position information detected by the second blade position detecting means to the second wiper control unit of the second wiper control device. To the first wiper control unit of the first wiper control device via the signal line, and the first wiper control unit transmits the position information of the first wiper blade and the front wiper blade. Based on the positional information of the second wiper blade sent from the second wiper control unit, a control signal for driving the first motor is sent to the first motor drive circuit, and the first wiper blade The wiper blade is synchronized with the second wiper blade, and the second wiper control unit is configured to detect the position information of the second wiper blade and the position of the first wiper blade sent from the first wiper control unit. Based on the information, a control signal for driving the second motor is sent to the second motor drive circuit, the second wiper blade is synchronized with the first wiper blade, and the first and You may make it wipe each 2nd wiping surface.

  Further, in the wiper system control method, the first and second wiper control units move the wiper blade on its own side to the upper reverse position or the lower reverse position based on the position information of the other wiper blade. The wiper blade may be operated simultaneously with the other wiper blade to wipe the first and second wiping surfaces, respectively.

  According to the wiper system of the present invention, in the wiper system having the first motor for operating the first wiper blade and the second motor for operating the second wiper blade, the first wiper A first wiper control device for controlling the operation of the blade and a second wiper control device for controlling the operation of the second wiper blade are provided, and the first and second wiper control devices are connected by a signal line. By exchanging information, it is possible to synchronize and operate the first and second wiper blades, while acquiring the position information of the other wiper blades and synchronizing the wiper blades on their own side. Is possible.

  According to the wiper system control method of the present invention, in a wiper system having a first motor for operating the first wiper blade and a second motor for operating the second wiper blade, A first wiper control device for controlling the operation of the wiper blade and a second wiper control device for controlling the operation of the second wiper blade are provided, and the first and second wiper control devices are connected by a signal line. By exchanging information, it is possible to synchronize the first and second wiper blades while acquiring the position information of the other wiper blades and synchronizing the wiper blades on their own side. Thus, the first and second wiping surfaces can be wiped off.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the wiper system which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the wiper system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a controller. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation condition of the front wiper and the rear wiper in the case of "complete synchronous control" by wiping speed control, (a) has shown the case of continuous operation, (b) has shown the case of intermittent operation, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operating condition of a front wiper and a rear wiper in the case of "complete synchronous control" by inversion position synchronous correction control. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of inversion position synchronous correction | amendment control, (a) is the transmission process of "reverse position arrival information", (b) is the transmission process of the "wiping operation instruction" based on "reverse position arrival information", respectively. Show. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operating condition of the front wiper and the rear wiper in the case of "outward path synchronous control", (a) has shown the case of continuous operation, (b) has shown the case of intermittent operation, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operating condition of the front wiper and the rear wiper in the case of "return path synchronous control", (a) has shown the case of continuous operation, (b) has shown the case of intermittent operation, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the control form in "return path synchronous control."

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a wiper system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the wiper system control method of the present invention is also implemented in the wiper system of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper system 1 includes a front wiper 11 and a rear wiper 12. The front wiper 11 is controlled by a controller 10 (first wiper control device), and the rear wiper 12 is controlled by a controller 50 (second wiper control device). The controller 10 is connected to a body control module (high-level ECU: hereinafter abbreviated as BCM) 20 through a signal line 21. The controller 10 and the controller 50 are connected by a signal line 51, and the controller 10 and the controller 50 can exchange control information with each other via the signal line 51.

  In the wiper system 1, the controller 50 independently controls the rear wiper 12, while the controller 10 and the controller 50 have a communication function, and communication between both controllers enables synchronous control of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12. I have to. The operations of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 are synchronously controlled under the BCM 20 in accordance with vehicle conditions (front wiper switch ON / OFF, back gear, brake operation state, etc.).

  The front wiper 11 is a parallel wiping type wiper device that is driven forward and backward by one motor, and includes wiper arms 2a and 2b on the driver's seat side and the passenger seat side. The wiper arm 2 a and the wiper arm 2 b are connected by a link mechanism 3. Wiper blades 4a and 4b for wiping the glass surface are attached to the wiper arms 2a and 2b. The wiper blades 4a and 4b are elastically in contact with the windshield (first wiping surface) 5 by a spring member (not shown) incorporated in the wiper arms 2a and 2b. The link mechanism 3 is connected to the motor unit 6, and the wiper blades 4 a and 4 b are driven by the motor unit 6. The motor unit 6 is integrally provided with a controller 10, and the front wiper motor 7 is controlled by the controller 10.

  The motor unit 6 includes a front wiper motor (first motor) 7 and a speed reduction mechanism 8. A sensor 9a for detecting the relative position of the wiper blades 4a and 4b is provided on the front wiper motor 7 side, and a sensor 9b for detecting the absolute position (for example, the lower reverse position) of the wiper blades 4a and 4b is provided on the speed reduction mechanism 8 side. Each is provided. A pulse signal is emitted from the relative position detection sensor 9a as the motor rotates. Further, a single signal is emitted from the absolute position detecting sensor 9b when the wiper blades 4a and 4b come to the lower inverted position. Both sensors 9a and 9b function as blade position detection means (first blade position detection means), and the current positions of the wiper blades 4a and 4b are detected based on signals from both sensors 9a and 9b.

  In the wiper system 1, a rear wiper 12 is provided in addition to the front wiper 11. The rear wiper 12 is disposed on a rear glass (second wiping surface) 13 at the rear of the vehicle, and includes a wiper arm 14 and a wiper blade (second wiper blade; rear wiper blade) 15. The wiper arm 14 and the wiper blade 15 are driven by a rear wiper motor (second motor) 17 that rotates in one direction via a link mechanism 16. The rear wiper motor 17 is incorporated in the motor unit 18, and the link mechanism 16 is connected to the motor unit 18. The motor unit 18 is integrally provided with a controller 50, and the rear wiper motor 17 is controlled by the controller 50. The controller 50 is connected to the controller 10 via a signal line 51.

  The motor unit 18 includes a rear wiper motor 17 and a speed reduction mechanism 19. A sensor 52a for detecting the relative position of the wiper blade 15 is provided on the rear wiper motor 17 side, and a sensor 52b for detecting the absolute position (for example, the lower reverse position) of the wiper blade 15 is provided on the speed reduction mechanism 19 side. Yes. Similar to the sensors 9a and 9b described above, a pulse signal is emitted from the relative position detection sensor 52a as the motor rotates, and the wiper blade 15 comes to the lower inverted position from the absolute position detection sensor 52b. Sometimes a single signal is emitted. Both sensors 52a and 52b also function as blade position detection means (second blade position detection means), and the current position of the wiper blade 15 is detected based on signals from both sensors 52a and 52b. Instead of the link mechanism 16 of the rear wiper 12, a crank mechanism or a swing mechanism using a sector gear may be built in the rear wiper motor 17 and driven.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the wiper system 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the controller 10 of the wiper system 1 is connected to the BCM 20 via a signal line 21. Various vehicle status information such as ON / OFF states of various operation switches, the position of the transmission gear, the state of brake operation, and the like are input to the BCM 20. Here, a front wiper switch 22, a rear wiper switch 23, a front washer switch 24, a rear washer switch 25, a back gear 26, a brake 27, a vehicle speed sensor 28, and the like are connected, and each state and data are input in real time. The

  The controller 10 disposed below the BCM 20 is provided with a CPU (microcomputer) 31 and a front wiper motor drive circuit (first motor drive circuit) 32. The front wiper motor drive circuit 32 is connected to the front wiper motor 7 in the motor unit 6. The controller 50 is also provided with a CPU (microcomputer) 53 and a rear wiper motor drive circuit (second motor drive circuit) 54. The rear wiper motor drive circuit 54 is connected to the rear wiper motor 17 in the motor unit 18.

  In the CPU 31, a front wiper control unit (first wiper control unit) 41 and a signal transmission / reception unit 42 are provided. The signal transmission / reception unit 42 is connected to the CPU 53 on the rear wiper 12 side through the signal line 51, and transmits / receives control information (such as the position and speed of the wiper blade) of the wipers 11 and 12 to / from the CPU 53. . In the CPU 53, a rear wiper control unit (second wiper control unit) 55 and a signal transmission / reception unit 56 are provided. The signal transmission / reception unit 56 is also connected to the CPU 31 (signal transmission / reception unit 42) via the signal line 51, and transmits / receives control information of the wipers 11, 12 to / from the CPU 31.

  The CPU 31 sends a control signal from the front wiper control unit 41 to the front wiper motor drive circuit 32 based on a command from the BCM 20 and vehicle status information, and operates the front wiper 11 as appropriate. The CPU 53 also sends a control signal from the rear wiper control unit 55 to the rear wiper motor drive circuit 54 based on a command from the BCM 20 and vehicle status information, and operates the rear wiper 12 as appropriate. At that time, in the wiper system 1, the CPU 31 and the CPU 53 grasp the positions of the partner wiper blades via the signal transmission / reception units 42 and 56, and synchronize the operations of the wiper blades 4 a and 4 b and the wiper blade 15.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the controller 10. The controller 50 has the same circuit configuration, and the CPU 53 drives the rear wiper motor 17 instead of the CPU 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 10 includes a CPU 31 in which a control program is installed, a ROM 33 in which various control data are stored, a first drive circuit 34, a second drive circuit 35, and an FET module 36. Is provided. The CPU 31 calculates the position information (current position angle θ) of the wiper blades 4a and 4b based on the signals output from the sensors, and refers to the control data in the ROM 33 to perform forward / reverse rotation and rotational speed of the front wiper motor 7. To control.

  Further, the CPU 31 appropriately exchanges control information with the CPU 53 on the rear wiper 12 side according to the state of the rear wiper switch 23, the back gear 26, the brake 27, and the like, and the operations of the wiper blades 4a and 4b and the wiper blade 15 of the rear wiper 12 are performed. Are controlled synchronously. Similarly, the controller 50 on the rear wiper 12 side synchronously controls the operations of the wiper blade 15 and the wiper blades 4a and 4b while exchanging control information with the CPU 31 in accordance with the state of the rear wiper switch 23 and the like.

  In the controller 10, an FET module 36 is used for forward / reverse drive control of the front wiper motor 7. As shown in FIG. 3, the FET module 36 is divided into a battery reverse connection protection unit 37 and a front wiper motor drive circuit 32. The battery reverse connection protection unit 37 is provided with one FET 38a, and the front wiper motor drive circuit 32 is provided with four FETs 38b to 38e. In the front wiper motor drive circuit 32, a bridge circuit for driving the front wiper motor 7 forward and reverse is formed by the FETs 38b to 38e. In the FET module 36, the FETs 38 b to 38 e are appropriately turned on and off by the CPU 31 (front wiper control unit 41) and the first and second drive circuits 35 and 36 based on the positional information of the wiper blades 4 a and 4 b, and the front wiper motor 7 Forward / reverse operation is controlled. These configurations are the same for the controller 50 on the rear wiper 12 side.

  Note that a general-purpose FET module used for driving a three-phase brushless motor may be used as the FET module 36 of the controllers 10 and 50. Normally, a three-phase driving FET module includes one FET for reverse connection prevention and a total of seven FETs, each of which is 2 × 3 for driving each phase. Here, six FETs for driving each phase are included. Of these FETs, four are used for forward / reverse drive of the front wiper motor 7. At this time, two remainders are generated in the six FETs for driving each phase, and this can be applied to the drive control of the window washer device (window washer motor) respectively provided on the front and rear. Thus, by diverting a general-purpose three-phase motor driving FET module to the controllers 10 and 50, a wiper driving FET, a window washer motor driving FET, and a reverse connection protection FET are packaged in an FET module. A controller can be configured. Thus, it is possible to realize a compact controller that can control both the front wiper motor 7 and the rear wiper motor 17 and the window washer motor without enlarging the drive circuit.

  In such a wiper system 1, when both the front wiper switch 22 and the rear wiper switch 23 are turned on, the BCM 20 notifies the controller 10, 50 (wiping request) to that effect and receives the controller 10, 50, the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 are operated in synchronization. In this case, the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 are synchronously controlled in the following manner of operation. Here, the control mode will be described in three parts: (1) perfect synchronization, (2) forward synchronization, and (3) backward synchronization.

(1) Complete synchronous control (1-1) Wiping speed control FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the operating status of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 in the case of “complete synchronous control” by wiping speed control. Continuous operation, (b) shows the case of intermittent operation. As shown in FIG. 4, in the case of “complete synchronization control”, the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 start the wiping operation at the same timing, and perform the reversing operation at the same timing. In this case, the controllers 10 and 50 adjust the wiping speeds of the wiper blades 4a and 4b and the wiper blade 15 while exchanging control information with each other, and the front wiper motor 7 and the rear wiper motor 17 are adjusted so that both reach the reverse position at the same time. To control the operation.

  At this time, the CPU 31 on the front wiper 11 side controls the operation of the front wiper motor 7 based on the positional information of the wiper blade 15 on the rear wiper 12 side sent from the CPU 53. That is, a control signal is sent from the front wiper control unit 41 to the front wiper motor drive circuit 32 while referring to the blade position information of the other party. Thus, a control signal is sent from the front wiper control unit 41 to the front wiper motor drive circuit 32 so that the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 are simultaneously reversed at the upside down position, and the front wiper motor 7 is moved along the control signal. Driven.

  Similarly, the CPU 53 on the rear wiper 12 side controls the operation of the rear wiper motor 17 based on the positional information of the wiper blades 4 a and 4 b on the front wiper 11 side sent from the CPU 31. That is, a control signal is sent from the rear wiper control unit 55 to the rear wiper motor drive circuit 54 while referring to the blade position information of the counterpart. Thus, a control signal is sent from the rear wiper control unit 55 to the rear wiper motor drive circuit 54 so that the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 are simultaneously reversed at the upside down position, and the rear wiper motor 17 is driven in accordance with the control signal. Is done.

(1-2) Reverse Position Synchronization Correction FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 in the case of “complete synchronization control” by the reverse position synchronization correction control. As shown in FIG. 5, also in the reverse position synchronization correction control, the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 start the wiping operation at the same timing and perform the reverse operation at the same timing. Also in this case, the controllers 10 and 50 exchange control information with each other, but the controller 50 on the rear wiper 12 side notifies the controller 10 of the “reversed position arrival information” of the wiper blade 15. Upon receiving this request, the controller 10 activates the front wiper motor 7 based on the positional information of the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 and operates the controller 50 to activate the rear wiper motor 17 when there is a wiping request from the BCM 20. Operate simultaneously.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the reverse position synchronization correction control. (A) is a transmission process of “reverse position arrival information”, and (b) is a “wiping operation instruction” based on “reverse position arrival information”. Each of the transmission processes is shown. As shown in FIG. 6A, the controller 50 determines whether or not the wiper blade 15 has reached the upside down position based on the signals from the sensors 52a and 52b (upper inversion position: step S1, lower inversion). Position: Step S2). When the wiper blade 15 reaches each reversal position, a signal indicating that the reversal position has been reached is sent to the controller 10 in steps S3 and S4, and the routine is exited.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, the controller 10 sees whether the wiper blades 4a and 4b on its own side have reached the reverse position and determines whether “reverse position arrival information” has not arrived from the controller 50. (Step S11). If the wiper blades 4a and 4b have not reached the reversal position and the "reversal position arrival information" has not arrived from the controller 50, it is determined that both wipers 11 and 12 are operating between the reversal positions. Exit. If one of the wipers 11 and 12 has reached the reversal position but the other has not yet reached, the reversing operation on the reaching side is suspended and the routine is exited.

  On the other hand, when the wiper blades 4a and 4b have reached the reversal position and the "reversal position arrival information" has arrived from the controller 50, that is, the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 of the wipers 11 and 12 are provided. If the position has reached the reverse position, the process proceeds to step S12, and it is determined whether or not there is a wiping request from the BCM 20. If there is no wiping request from the BCM 20 in step S12, it is determined that the wiping operation is not necessary, and the controllers 10 and 50 operate the motors 7 and 17 to store the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 (S13). : Storage instruction). That is, when the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 are at the lower reverse position, they are moved to the storage position as they are, and when they are at the upper reverse position, the return path operation is performed and moved to the storage position as it is.

  On the other hand, if there is a wiping request from the BCM 20, the process proceeds to step S14, where the controller 10 instructs the reversal of the wiper blades 4a, 4b on its own side and also reverses the wiper blade 15 on the rear wiper 12 side. Invert instruction to 50. That is, the controller 10 operates the front wiper motor 7 to invert the wiper blades 4a and 4b and works on the controller 50 to invert the wiper blade 15 at the same time. As a result, the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 perform the reversing operation at the same timing.

  Therefore, in the reverse position synchronization correction control, as shown in FIG. 5, the post-reverse operation is synchronized in accordance with the reverse position arrival timing of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12. That is, when the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 simultaneously reach the reversal position (here, the upper reversal position), both move directly to the reversal operation, and reversing simultaneously (FIG. 5A). When the front wiper 11 reaches the reverse position first, the front wiper 11 stops at the reverse position until the rear wiper 12 reaches the reverse position. Then, the reversing operation is performed after the arrival of the rear wiper 12, and the returning operation is started simultaneously with the rear wiper 12 (FIG. 5B). On the other hand, when the rear wiper 12 reaches the reverse position first, the rear wiper 12 stops at the reverse position until the front wiper 11 reaches the reverse position, and performs the reverse operation after the front wiper 11 arrives. Simultaneously with the front wiper 11, the return path operation is started (FIG. 5C). As a result, the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 are reversely operated in synchronization even if there is a deviation in reaching the reverse position. Although not shown in FIG. 5, similar synchronization control is also performed at the lower inversion position.

(2) Outward synchronization control In the forward synchronization control, the rear wiper 12 operates in synchronization with the start of the operation of the front wiper 11 at the lower inversion position. FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing the operating states of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 in the case of “outward synchronization control”, where FIG. 7A shows a continuous operation and FIG. 7B shows an intermittent operation. As shown in FIG. 7, at this time, the rear wiper 12 starts the wiping operation in accordance with the start of the forward wiping of the front wiper 11 (lower inversion position → upper inversion position). That is, the wiper blades 4a and 4b of the front wiper 11 and the wiper blade 15 of the rear wiper 12 start to move simultaneously from the lower inversion position.

  In the case of FIG. 7, since the wiping cycle of the rear wiper 12 is longer than that of the front wiper 11, the rear wiper 12 waits at the lower inversion position after the one wiping operation until the two wiping operations of the front wiper 11 are completed. . Then, simultaneously with the reversing operation of the front wiper 11 at the lower reversing position, the rear wiper 12 starts the next wiping operation. On the other hand, when the wiping cycle of the rear wiper 12 is shorter than that of the front wiper 11, the rear wiper 12 is operated after completion of the reciprocating wiping operation of the front wiper 11, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. The operations of both wipers 11, 12 are synchronized in the form of.

(3) Return-path synchronization control In the return-path synchronization control, the rear wiper 12 operates in synchronization with the start of the reverse operation of the front wiper 11 at the upper reverse position. FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams showing the operating states of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 in the case of “return synchronization control”, where FIG. 8A shows a continuous operation and FIG. 8B shows an intermittent operation. As shown in FIG. 8, at this time, the rear wiper 12 starts the return wiping operation in accordance with the start of the return wiping (upper reverse position → lower reverse position) of the front wiper 11. That is, during the wiping operation, the wiper blades 4a and 4b of the front wiper 11 and the wiper blade 15 of the rear wiper 12 start to move simultaneously from the upper reverse position.

  In this return path synchronization control, since the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 are simultaneously started from the upper reversal position, the wiper blades 4a and 4b of the front wiper 11 may be put on standby at the upper reversal position as shown in FIG. 9A. In other words, the front wiper 11 may be delayed at the upper reversal position so that the timings of starting the return path operations of both the wipers 11 and 12 may be aligned. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the rear wiper 12 may be reciprocated once during the return path operation of the front wiper 11. In this case, the rear wiper 12 starts to operate together with the returning operation of the front wiper 11 (front: up-reversed position, rear: down-reversed position), and reaches the up-turned position until the front wiper 11 reaches the down-turned position. It reverses and reaches the lower reverse position simultaneously with the front wiper 11.

  As described above, in the synchronous control according to the present invention, the wiper blades 4a and 4b and the wiper blade 15 start or reverse at the same timing. As a result, it is possible to reduce the user's visual stress as compared to an operation mode in which both operate separately. In addition, since the reverse sound and the operation start sound of the wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 at the upside down position are generated at the same time, the auditory stress at which the sound at the time of operation and the reverse time can be individually heard is reduced.

The wiper system 1 can also control the operation of the rear wiper 12 according to the vehicle situation. Here, as an example, an operation control mode of the rear wiper 12 in the following case will be described.
(A) Front wiper switch 22: ON, back gear 26: ON (B) Front wiper switch 22: ON, rear wiper switch 23: ON, brake 27: ON

(A) Front wiper switch 22: ON, back gear 26: ON
When the BCM 20 detects that the transmission gear is in the back gear 26 when the front wiper switch 22 is ON, the BCM 20 notifies the controller 10 and the controller 50 to that effect. Receiving this, the controllers 10 and 50 operate the rear wiper 12 in synchronization with the front wiper 11 regardless of whether the rear wiper switch 23 is ON / OFF. The synchronization control form in this case may be any of the above-mentioned (1) to (3). As a result, when the vehicle is backed in the rain or snow, the rear glass 13 is automatically wiped off, and a clear rear field of view can be secured.

(B) Front wiper switch 22: ON, rear wiper switch 23: ON, brake 27: ON
In this case, it is assumed that the vehicle is stopped by a signal or the like during rainy / snow running, and the user (driver) usually checks the state of the following vehicle. That is, at this time, the driver confirms the rear by the rear mirror through the rear glass 13, but the frequent wiper wiping operation may hinder the rear view. Therefore, in the wiper system 1, in the situation of (B), the “intermittent operation” (each figure (b)) in the synchronous control mode of (1) to (3) described above is adopted, and the number of operations of the rear wiper 12 is set. Decrease. That is, when the BCM 20 detects that the brake 27 has been stepped on when both the front wiper switch 22 and the rear wiper switch 23 are ON, the BCM 20 notifies the controller 10 and the controller 50 to that effect, and receives the controller. 50 exchanges blade position information with the controller 10 to cause the rear wiper 12 to operate synchronously intermittently.

  As described above, in the wiper system according to the present invention, the controller 10 has the control drive function of the front wiper motor 7 and the controller 50 of the rear wiper motor 17, and exchanges control information between the controllers 10 and 50. The wiper blades 4a, 4b and 15 are operated in synchronization. In this case, the host ECU does not directly control the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12, but notifies the controller 10 and 50 of the vehicle status, and the controllers 10 and 50 synchronize the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 based on the notification. Control. For this reason, it is possible to realize synchronous control of the front wiper and the rear wiper without increasing the control load of the host ECU.

  Furthermore, by synchronizing the wiping operation of the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12 in the manner described above, the driver (user) visual and auditory stress can be reduced and the wiper noise can be reduced by the wiper operation having no sense of unity. It becomes possible to plan. In addition, the back gear information and the brake information are sent to the controllers 10 and 50 by communication, and the controllers 10 and 50 receiving the signals mutually control the front wiper 11 and the rear wiper 12, so that the control load of the BCM 20 is not increased. In addition, it is possible to realize the synchronous operation of the front wiper and the rear wiper suitable for the vehicle situation.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the vehicle status information input to the BCM 20 is not limited to the above-described one, and the synchronization control form is not limited to the above-described one. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a wiper device in which the front wiper and the rear wiper are operated from the lower reversal position has been described. It is also possible to adopt a control form in which the operation timing from the upper reverse position is synchronized. Further, for example, the link mechanism 16 of the rear wiper 12 of FIG. 1 can be incorporated in the speed reduction mechanism 19 of the rear wiper motor 17.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the parallel wiper type front wiper 11 of the one-motor forward / reverse drive is shown, but the form of the front wiper is not limited thereto, and the two-motor forward / reverse drive is performed. The present invention can also be applied to other types of wiper systems, such as the opposite wiping type wiper system and the two-motor forward / reverse driving parallel wiping type. Further, the mechanical configuration of the wiper system is not limited to the above-described one. For example, the present invention can be applied to a wiper system having a configuration in which a wiper arm is mounted on an output shaft of a wiper motor without using a link mechanism. is there. In addition, the front wiper motor 7 and the rear wiper motor 17 may be motors with brushes or brushless motors.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wiper system 2a, 2b Wiper arm 3 Link mechanism 4a, 4b Wiper blade (1st wiper blade)
5 Windshield (first wiping surface)
6 Motor unit 7 Front wiper motor (first motor)
8 Deceleration mechanism 9a, 9b Sensor 10 Controller 11 Front wiper 12 Rear wiper 13 Rear glass (second wiping surface)
14 Wiper arm 15 Wiper blade (second wiper blade)
16 Link mechanism 17 Rear wiper motor (second motor)
18 Motor unit 19 Reduction mechanism 20 Body control module 21 Signal line 22 Front wiper switch 23 Rear wiper switch 24 Front washer switch 25 Rear washer switch 26 Back gear 27 Brake 28 Vehicle speed sensor 31 CPU
32 Front wiper motor drive circuit (first motor drive circuit)
33 ROM
34 1st drive circuit 35 2nd drive circuit 36 FET module 37 Battery reverse connection protection part 38a-38e FET
41 Front wiper control unit (first wiper control unit)
42 Signal Transmission / Reception Unit 50 Controller 51 Signal Lines 52a, 52b Sensor 53 CPU
54 Rear wiper motor drive circuit (second motor drive circuit)
55 Rear wiper control unit (second wiper control unit)
56 Signal transceiver

Claims (9)

A first wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the first wiping surface;
A second wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the second wiping surface;
A first motor for reciprocating wiping the first wiper blade;
A wiper system comprising: a second motor for reciprocating the second wiper blade;
The wiper system
A first wiper control device comprising: a first motor drive circuit for driving the first motor; and a first wiper control unit for controlling the first motor drive circuit;
A second motor drive circuit connected to the first wiper control device via a signal line for driving the second motor; and a second wiper control unit for controlling the second motor drive circuit. A second wiper control device;
A signal transmitting / receiving unit provided in each of the first and second wiper control devices and connected to each other by the signal line;
The first and second wiper control devices acquire position information of the other wiper blades via the signal transmission / reception unit, and operate the first and second wiper blades in synchronization with each other. And wiper system. The wiper system according to claim 1, wherein
The first motor has first blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the first wiper blade,
The second motor has second blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the second wiper blade,
The first wiper control unit receives the first wiper blade position information detected by the first blade position detection unit from the signal transmission / reception unit via the signal line. 2 Sent to the wiper control unit,
The second wiper control unit receives the position information of the second wiper blade detected by the second blade position detection unit from the signal transmission / reception unit via the signal line. 1 Sent to the wiper control unit,
The first wiper control unit controls the first motor drive circuit based on the position information of the first wiper blade and the position information of the second wiper blade sent from the second wiper control unit. Sending a control signal for driving the first motor, and operating the first wiper blade in synchronization with the second wiper blade;
The second wiper control unit is configured to control the second motor driving circuit based on the position information of the second wiper blade and the position information of the first wiper blade sent from the first wiper control unit. A wiper system that sends a control signal for driving the second motor and operates the second wiper blade in synchronization with the first wiper blade. The wiper system according to claim 1 or 2,
The first and second wiper control units operate the wiper blade on its own side at the same time as the other wiper blade in the upper inverted position or the lower inverted position based on the position information of the other wiper blade. Wiper system characterized by letting The wiper system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The first wiping surface is a vehicle windshield, and the second wiping surface is a vehicle rear glass;
The first wiper blade is a front wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation on the windshield, and the second wiper blade is a rear wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation on the rear glass,
The first motor is a front wiper motor that reciprocates and wipes the front wiper blade on the windshield, and the second motor is a rear wiper motor that reciprocates and wipes the rear wiper blade on the rear glass. A wiper system characterized by that. The wiper system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The first and second wiper control units operate the first and second wiper blades in synchronization with each other based on vehicle status information of a vehicle on which the wiper system is mounted. The wiper system according to claim 5, wherein
The first wiper control device is connected to an electronic control device disposed above the first wiper control device via a signal line,
The first and second wiper control units operate the first and second wiper blades in synchronization with each other based on the vehicle status information acquired from the electronic control device. A first wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the first wiping surface;
A second wiper blade that performs a reciprocating wiping operation between an upper inversion position and a lower inversion position set on the second wiping surface;
A first motor for reciprocating wiping the first wiper blade;
A control method of a wiper system for wiping the first and second wiping surfaces using a second motor for reciprocating wiping the second wiper blade,
The wiper system
A first wiper control device comprising: a first motor drive circuit for driving the first motor; and a first wiper control unit for controlling the first motor drive circuit;
A second motor drive circuit connected to the first wiper control device via a signal line for driving the second motor; and a second wiper control unit for controlling the second motor drive circuit. A second wiper control device;
A signal transmitting / receiving unit provided in each of the first and second wiper control devices and connected to each other by the signal line;
The first and second wiper control devices acquire position information of the other wiper blades via the signal transmission / reception unit, and synchronize the first and second wiper blades. And the wiper system control method characterized by wiping off each 2nd wiping surface. The wiper system control method according to claim 7,
The first motor has first blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the first wiper blade,
The second motor has second blade position detecting means for detecting the position of the second wiper blade,
The first wiper control unit receives the first wiper blade position information detected by the first blade position detection unit from the signal transmission / reception unit via the signal line. 2 Sent to the wiper control unit,
The second wiper control unit receives the position information of the second wiper blade detected by the second blade position detection unit from the signal transmission / reception unit via the signal line. 1 Sent to the wiper control unit,
The first wiper control unit controls the first motor drive circuit based on the position information of the first wiper blade and the position information of the second wiper blade sent from the second wiper control unit. Sending a control signal for driving the first motor, synchronizing the first wiper blade with the second wiper blade;
The second wiper control unit is configured to control the second motor driving circuit based on the position information of the second wiper blade and the position information of the first wiper blade sent from the first wiper control unit. Sending a control signal for driving the second motor, synchronizing the second wiper blade with the first wiper blade;
A wiper system control method characterized by wiping each of the first and second wiping surfaces. The wiper system control method according to claim 7 or 8,
The first and second wiper control units operate the wiper blade on its own side at the same time as the other wiper blade in the upper inverted position or the lower inverted position based on the position information of the other wiper blade. Then, the wiper system control method characterized by wiping each of the first and second wiping surfaces.

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