JPS6253382B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wiper device for a vehicle, and in particular detects deposits adhering to a windshield glass and automatically wipes the windshield glass when the deposit exceeds a certain amount. The present invention relates to a vehicle wiper device for wiping the vehicle.

Conventionally, high-speed operation,
The wiper device has been improved to select low-speed or intermittent operation to detect the amount of rain that has adhered to the outer surface of the windshield glass, and depending on the amount of rain,
2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle wiper device that uses an intermittent wiper that operates intermittently and automatically changes wiper operation, wiping time, and intermittent time is known.

Such wiper devices detect the amount of rain by detecting the amount of light that passes through or is reflected by the raindrops attached to the windshield glass, so it is possible that there may be deposits other than raindrops such as dust on the outer surface of the windshield glass. If the rain is attached, the amount of rain cannot be detected accurately because the light rays are blocked by the adhered substances, causing the wiper device to malfunction.
There is a problem.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of automatically wiping off the windshield glass when a certain amount of rain has adhered to the windshield glass, and also cleaning the windshield glass to remove dust and other deposits on the windshield glass. A vehicle wiper that sprays washer liquid to wipe away any dirt that adheres to the windshield, and also corrects the setting values that determine when to start the wiper and when to spray the washer liquid if the area other than the windshield is dirty. The purpose is to provide equipment.

A wiper device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a plurality of light receiving means for outputting a received light signal proportional to the amount of light transmitted through a deposit attached to a windshield glass or a light ray reflected by the deposit; determining means for determining whether the amount of light received by the light receiving means is within a predetermined range based on the determination result of the determining means; and determining the number of light receiving means that do not receive light amount within the predetermined range based on the determination result of the determining means. a counting means for counting, a driving means for outputting a wiper operation signal and a washer liquid injection signal when the count value of the counting means exceeds a preset number; and a driving means for outputting a wiper operation signal and a washer liquid injection signal. and a correction means for outputting a correction signal for correcting the upper limit value and lower limit value of the light amount within the predetermined range after outputting the light amount. That is, the vehicle wiper device of the present invention detects the light rays that have passed through the deposits attached to the windshield glass or the light rays that have been reflected by the deposits, and detects when the amount of rain deposited on the windshield glass exceeds a certain amount. If the windshield glass is dirty with dust, etc., operate the wiper blade to wipe the windshield glass, and if the windshield glass is dirty with dust etc., spray the washer liquid and operate the wiper blade to wipe the windshield glass. In the case of dirt other than the windshield glass, the wiper operation timing and washer fluid injection timing are corrected to prevent malfunctions.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this embodiment includes a light emitting section 6 connected to a battery 4 via an ignition switch 2,
The light receiving unit 8 includes light receiving elements 8 ₁ , 8 _{2 .} . . 8 _i .

The light emitting unit 6 includes a light emitting element 6a made of, for example, a light emitting diode, and a transmitter 6b, and is fixed on the vehicle body in front of the windshield glass.
The light emitting unit 6 can be fixed in the vicinity of the washer nozzle on the vehicle bonnet, around the edge of the fender mirror, or on the windshield glass of an illuminance detector used to automatically switch beams by detecting the amount of light from the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Side etc. can be considered.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the light receiving section 8 is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the windshield glass 26 via a prism 28 made of, for example, acrylic. A suitable location for the light receiving section 8 to be in close contact with is the inner surface of the windshield glass 26 corresponding to the wiping range of the wiper blade and the back side of the inner mirror. This position is a position that does not obstruct the driver's view, and by bringing the prism 28 into close contact with the back surface of the windshield glass 26, false detection due to fogging on the inside surface of the windshield glass or dirt due to dust, etc. is prevented. Ru. Note that 30 is a protective cover for the light receiving section 8, and 32 is a wiring.

Light-receiving elements 8 ₁ ... 8 _o constituting the light-receiving section 8 are connected to a multiplexer 10 . The multiplexer 10 is connected to a central processing unit (CPU) 20 via an amplifier 12, a bandpass filter 14, a detector 16, and an A/D converter 18 that converts an analog signal into a digital signal.
It is directly connected to CPU20. One end of the resistor _R1 is connected to the CPU 20, and the other end of the resistor _R1 is connected to the base of the transistor _Tr1 . The emitter of the transistor Tr ₁ is grounded, and its collector is connected to the ignition switch ₂ via the excitation coil L 1 of the wiper relay Ry ₁ . One end of the contact S ₁ of the wiper relay Ry ₁ is connected to the ignition switch 2, and the other end is connected to the other end of the wiper motor 22, one end of which is grounded. The wiper motor 22 is ignited via a switch _S3 which is linked to the wiper motor 22 and turns on while the wiper blade is within a predetermined operating range and turns off when the wiper blade is in a predetermined stop position. It is connected to the transmission switch 2. Further, one end of a resistor _R2 is connected to the CPU 20, and the other end of the resistor _R2 is connected to a transistor _Tr2 .
connected to the base of. The emitter of the transistor Tr ₂ is grounded, and the collector of the transistor Tr ₂ is connected to the ignition switch ₂ via the exciting coil L 2 of the washer relay Ry ₂ .
One end of the contact S ₂ of the washer relay Ry ₂ is grounded, and the other end is connected to one end of the washer motor 24 . The other end of the washer motor 24 is connected to the ignition switch 2.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the ignition switch 2 is turned on, power is supplied to the oscillation circuit 6b, and a pulsed modulated signal consisting of infrared rays with a wavelength of about 950 nm is output from the light emitting element 6a. As shown in FIG. 2, this infrared rays are refracted by the windshield glass and received by the light receiving elements 8 ₁ . . . 8 _o forming the light receiving section 8 . The light receiving elements ₈₁ ... _8o have levels _TM1 , _TM2 ,
TM ₃ ...TMi...Outputs the light reception signal of TM _o . Here, for example, if raindrops 34 are attached to the surface of the windshield glass 26 as shown in FIG.
The infrared rays are refracted by the raindrops 34 and sent to the light receiving element 8 ₂
focus on. Therefore, when raindrops 34 adhere to the surface of the windshield glass, the light rays are focused on one of the light receiving elements, and the amount of light received by the light receiving elements 8 ₁ and 8 ₃ located at both ends thereof is reduced. Also,
When a deposit 36 such as dust is attached to the outer surface of the windshield glass 26, infrared rays are blocked by the deposit 36, and the amount of light received by a light receiving element located behind the deposit 36 is reduced. As mentioned above, when raindrops adhere to the outer surface of the windshield glass, an increase or decrease in the amount of light received is observed at each light receiving element, and when there is adhering matter such as dust on the windshield glass, , a decrease in the amount of light received is observed. Therefore, the level of the light-receiving signal output from the light-receiving element when there is no deposit on the outer surface of the windshield glass is TM ₁ ...TM _o , and with this level TM ₁ ...TM _o as a reference, level α is a higher upper limit level. TH ₁ , TH ₂ , TH ₃ …TH _i …
TH _o , level α lower lower limit level TL ₁ , TL ₂ , TL ₃
...TL _i ...TL _o values are stored in the non-brightness generation RAM or battery backed up RAM, and the light reception signal ACi of each light receiving element is TH _i ≧ACi≧TL _i ≧(i=
By determining whether or not the value falls within a predetermined range indicated by 1, 2...n), the determination means determines whether the amount of received light has increased due to raindrops or decreased due to deposits such as raindrops or dirt. can be determined.

The pulsed infrared rays output by turning on the ignition switch 2 are received by the light receiving elements ₈₁ ... _8o through the windshield glass 26, but at this time, the CPU 20 outputs an address signal and the light receiving elements 8 Any one of the received light signals among ₁ ...8 _o is input to the amplifier 12. The light reception signal amplified by the amplifier 12 has noise removed by the bandpass filter 14, and is then sent to the detector 16.
The signal is detected by the A/D converter 18, converted into a binary number, and input to the CPU 20. The CPU 20 includes a determining means, a counting means, a driving means, and a correcting means, and at the same time as outputting the address signal, the binary light receiving signal ACi (i=1.2...n) is inputted and the determining means determines that TH _i ≧ACi. It is determined whether ≧TL _i . The level of the received light signal ACi is TH _i ≧ACi
When a level value other than ≧TL _i is taken, the number of light receiving elements that output a light receiving signal of a level other than this predetermined range (TH _i ≧AC≧TL _i ) is counted by a counting means. Then, address signals are output one after another from the CPU 20, and it is determined and counted whether or not a light reception signal of a level within a predetermined range is output for all the light receiving elements ₈₁ ... _8o . Subsequently, it is determined whether the number K of light receiving elements counted by the counting means takes a value of K< _N1 . That is, when the number K of light-receiving elements is greater than or equal to the number N ₁ shown in FIG. 6, it is further determined whether the number K is greater than or equal to N ₂ shown in FIG. When the value of ₁ <K<N ₂ is taken, the wiper operation signal shown in FIG. 6 is output from the driving means and the wiper blade is operated.
When the number K of light receiving elements exceeds the number _N2 ,
A washer liquid injection signal and a wiper operation signal shown in FIG. 6 are outputted from the driving means. The wiper drive signal is supplied to the base of transistor Tr ₁ via resistor R ₁ to turn on transistor Tr ₁ .
When the transistor Tr ₁ is turned on, the excitation coil is transferred from the battery 4 through the ignition switch 2.
A current flows through _L1 to excite it, turning on contact _S1 , driving the wiper motor 22, and wiping the windshield glass. Further, the washer liquid injection signal is supplied to the base of the transistor Tr ₂ via the resistor R ₂ to turn on the transistor Tr ₂ . When transistor Tr ₂ is turned on, the washer relay is activated from battery 4 via ignition switch 2.
Excitation coil L ₂ of Ry ₂ is excited and contact S ₂ is turned on. When the contact S ₂ of the washer relay Ry ₂ is turned on, the washer motor 24 is driven and the washer fluid is sprayed onto the windshield glass.

Then, the timer determines the predetermined time shown in Figure 6.
T ₁ is measured, and when the predetermined time T ₁ has elapsed, the output of the washer liquid injection signal is stopped and the transistor
Tr ₂ is turned off, thus the washer relay Ry ₂ is turned off, and the washer motor 24 is stopped. Also, a time T ₂ longer than the predetermined time T ₁ shown in FIG.
If the period has elapsed, the output of the wiper drive signal is stopped, the transistor Tr ₁ is turned off, and therefore the wiper relay Ry ₁ is turned off. Thereafter, current is supplied via switch _S3 , so the wiper motor 22 continues to rotate until it reaches a predetermined stop position.
Switch _S3 is turned off and wiper motor 22 is stopped. In this way, the reason why the spraying of the washer fluid and the operation of the wiper blade are stopped after the predetermined times T ₁ and T ₂ have elapsed is that the deposits such as dust on the outer surface of the windshield glass will be removed after the predetermined time has elapsed. It is from.

As described above, when the deposits on the windshield glass are removed by wiping with the washer liquid and the wiper blade, the level of the light reception signal output from the light receiving element returns to the original reference level shown in Figure 5.
TM ₁ … Return to TM _o . However, if the surface of the light emitting element is dirty, the dirt will not be removed by jetting the washer fluid and wiping the wiper blade, so the wiper drive signal and the washer fluid injection signal may be output again. . Therefore, in this embodiment, after the predetermined time _T2 has elapsed, the CPU is
20 outputs an address signal to the multiplexer 10 to select a light receiving element and correct the upper limit value T _i and lower limit value T _i of a predetermined range of each light receiving element. In other words, select one of the light receiving elements ₈₁ ... _8o and adjust the output level of the light receiving signal.
ACi is corrected by ±α (α is the predetermined level described above). By doing this, the predetermined range of the light-receiving element that is affected by dirt on the emitting part 6 is set to a new predetermined range that takes dirt into consideration, and the light-receiving element that is not affected by dirt on the light-emitting part is set to a new predetermined range that takes dirt into consideration. It takes a value within the same predetermined range as described above, and it is possible to detect deposits on the windshield glass without being affected by dirt on the light emitting part.

The above describes an example of detecting a light beam that passes through the deposits attached to the windshield glass, but the present invention is not limited to this.
It can also be applied to cases in which infrared rays or the like are irradiated from the inner surface of the windshield glass to deposits on the outer surface of the windshield glass, and the amount of deposits is determined by detecting the reflected light and scattered light. Further, the processing order of the present invention is preferably performed using a CPU such as an electronic fuel injection device using a timer interrupt or a reference interrupt that executes a task at a constant interrupt cycle.

As explained above, according to the present invention, when a predetermined amount of raindrops adhere to the outer surface of the windshield glass, the raindrops are automatically wiped off, and when dirt, etc. adhere to the outer surface of the windshield glass, the raindrops are automatically wiped off. to remove the dirt. Further, when there is dirt on the light emitting part, etc., the drive level is set in accordance with the dirt, and an excellent effect is obtained in that malfunction does not occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view showing the mounting position of the light receiving section, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the light receiving elements, and FIG.
The figure is a diagram showing the light receiving state of the light receiving element due to the influence of deposits such as raindrops or dust, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the signal level of the light receiving signal, and Figure 6 is the relationship between the light receiving elements and their number. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment described above. 2...Ignition switch, 4...Battery battery,
6... Light emitting section, 6a... Light emitting element, 6b... Oscillator, 8
... Light receiving section, 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ ... 8 _i ... 8 _o ... Light receiving element, 1
0...Multiplexer, 12...Amplifier, 14...Band filter, 16...Detector, 18...A/D converter, _R1 , _R2 ...Resistor, _Tr1 , _Tr2 ...Transistor,
S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ... Contact, L ₁ , L ₂ ... Excitation coil, 20
... central processing unit (CPU), 22... wiper motor,
24... Washer motor, 26... Windshield glass, 28... Prism, 30... Cover, 32
... Wiring, 36. Dust and other deposits, Ry ₁ ... Wipe relay, Ry ₂ ... Washer relay.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of light receiving means that output a received light signal proportional to the amount of light transmitted through a deposit attached to the windshield glass or a light ray reflected by the deposit; a determining means for determining whether the amount of light is within a predetermined range; a counting means for counting the number of light receiving means that do not receive a light amount within the predetermined range based on a determination result of the determining means; a driving means that outputs a wiper operation signal and a washer fluid injection signal when the counted value of the means exceeds a preset number; A wiper device for a vehicle, comprising: a correction means for outputting a correction signal for correcting an upper limit value and a lower limit value of a light amount.