Denso Corporation

Junichi Ishikawa

Makiko Sugiura

Taiji Morishita

Kiyoshi Otsuka

Taketoshi Yoshigoe

Takahiko Yoshida

Toshiaki Nakayama

Yasuaki Makino

Jun Tarui

Masao Tokunaga

Akira Kurahashi

Shinji Wakabayashi

Tomohide Ariki

Osamu Terakura

Hirotaka Kurozaki

Kouichi Gotoh

A sensor device includes a sensor element detecting a temperature of an attachment member to which the sensor device is attached. The sensor device includes a flexible substrate that includes a base having a first surface and a second surface and made of an electrically insulating material, and a land disposed adjacent to the first surface and electrically connected to the sensor element. The sensor device further includes: a rigid member adhered to the second surface; a flexible member that has a thermal conductivity and a flexibility higher than those of the base, is stacked on the rigid member to be in contact with the rigid member on a side opposite to the flexible substrate, and is to be in contact with the attachment member in an attached state; and a pressing member that presses the flexible substrate toward the attachment member in the attached state.

Sensor device

An adhering matter determination portion includes an irradiation portion, a light receiving portion and a determination portion. The irradiation portion radiates a light to a plurality of different areas of a transparent plate. The light receiving portion converts reflected waves reflected at the different areas into electrical signals. The determination portion compares at least one of detection signals outputted from the light receiving portion with a determination threshold. When the detection signal is lower than the determination threshold, the determination portion determines that there is an adhering matter on the transparent plate. The determination portion compares the detection signals. When a difference of the detection signals is higher than a condensation determination value, the determination portion determines that the adhering matter is raindrops. When the difference of the detection signals is lower than the condensation determination value, the determination portion determines that the adhering matter is dewdrops.

Adhering matter determination device

A rain sensor equipped to a transparent substrate includes a light emitter emitting irradiation lights toward the transparent substrate, light receivers receiving reflected lights of the irradiation lights being reflected on the transparent substrate, a defining section defining an incident angle of each reflected light with respect to each light receiver, and a detection section detecting rainfall amount based on signals output from the light receivers. The light emitter emits the irradiation lights toward an irradiation region defined on the transparent substrate. The irradiation region is divided into multiple detection regions. The detection regions correspond to respective light receivers. The defining section defines the incident angle of each reflected light reflected on the detection region such that each reflected light enters corresponding light receiver. The detection section detects the rainfall amount based on the signals output from the light receivers corresponding to the irradiation regions.

Rain sensor

A vehicle presence notification apparatus may include a dynamic speaker for radiating a notification sound from a vehicle in an audible frequency, and a sound pressure supplement unit is provided to control a sound pressure of the notification sound. The apparatus may further include a parametric speaker for generating a supersonic sound of the notification sound from a supersonic sound generation unit. The supersonic sound is emitted from a sound emission opening. The parametric speaker may further include a reflected sound pressure detecting unit for detecting a sound pressure generated by a reflection of the supersonic sound from the sound emission opening. The sound pressure supplement unit increases the sound pressure of the notification sound radiated by the dynamic speaker based on the sound pressure detected by the reflected sound pressure detecting unit.

Vehicle presence notification apparatus

A raindrop detecting device for detecting a raindrop amount on a windshield of a vehicle and selecting a wiping mode of a wiper based on the detected raindrop amount includes a controller for lowering the wiping mode when the detected raindrop amount is kept to be smaller than a mode-keep threshold while the wiper performs a predetermined number of wiping operations. The controller changes the predetermined number of wiping operations based on at least one of a sensitivity data of a user of the vehicle and a rainfall block data relative to the vehicle.

Raindrop detecting device and method of selecting wiping mode for vehicle

A raindrop detection apparatus includes a light emitting unit for emitting light to an inner side of a windshield, a light receiving unit for receiving the light reflected by an outer surface of the windshield, a first lens unit which is arranged between the windshield and the light emitting unit to convert the light from the light emitting unit into parallel light, and a second lens unit which is arranged between the windshield and the light receiving unit to converge the reflected light at the light receiving unit. The second lens unit is larger than a radial cross section of the reflected light. An amount of raindrop landed on the outer surface of the windshield is detected based on an intensity of the light received by the light receiving unit.

Raindrop detection apparatus with case and lenses integrally configured and circuit board supported by case

A raindrop detection device includes a first fixing member which is fixed to a windshield and has a first engagement portion, an inner housing in which a detection unit is accommodated, an outer housing in which the inner housing is accommodated and which is fixed to the inner housing, a second fixing member having a second engagement portion which is detachably engaged with the first engagement portion of the first fixing member, and a leaf spring which is engaged with the inner housing to press and bias the inner housing toward the windshield. The second fixing member has a leaf-spring biasing portion, which contacts the leaf spring to elastically bias the leaf spring toward the windshield at a predetermined pressing force.

Raindrop detection device

A wiper control device for a vehicle with a wiper includes a day/night detecting device for detecting whether the vehicle is in day-like or night-like conditions. The device also includes a moisture detection device that detects a quantity of moisture on the vehicle and a controlling device that controls the wiping action of the wiper based on a wiping sensitivity to the quantity of moisture detected. The controlling device adjusts the wiping sensitivity between night-like wiping sensitivity and day-like wiping sensitivity. The controlling device adjusts wiping sensitivity to night-like wiping sensitivity when the day/night detecting device detects night-like conditions and to day-like wiping sensitivity when the day/night detecting device detects day-like conditions. Additionally, when the day/night detecting device detects a change between day-like and night-like conditions, the controlling device delays switching between night-like and day-like wiping sensitivity for a predetermined delay time.

Wiper control device for vehicle

Raindrop detection apparatus having lens unit larger than radius of reflected light

A sensor device for detecting wetting on a windshield includes a light emission element for emitting a light, a first light reception element for receiving the light in a first light path that includes reflective redirection by the windshield, and a second light reception element for receiving the light in a second light path that does not include reflective redirection by the windshield. The sensor device uses a ratio of the amount of the received light by the first light reception element and the amount of the received light by the second light reception element to determine wetting on the windshield.

Sensor device for detecting wetting on a windshield based on received reference light

Sensor device and wiper controller having sensor device

A raindrop sensor includes a light-emitting element, a light-receiving element and a light guide body. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element face a transparent panel. The light guide body, which is mounted on the transparent panel, includes an input lens, an input side dividing surface, an output lens and an output side dividing surface. The input lens collimates light emitted by the light-emitting element to form an input side collimated light beam. The output lens receives the collimated light beam, which is collimated by the input lens and is reflected by a reference surface of the transparent panel, to which the raindrop attaches. The output lens converges the reflected collimated light beam toward the light-receiving element. An intersection between an imaginary extension of the input side dividing surface and an imaginary extension of the output side dividing surface is located on the reference surface of the transparent panel.

Raindrop sensor

A rain sensor includes an amplifier circuit that amplifies an output voltage from a photodiode and then provides this voltage signal to a CPU. The amplifier circuit conducts an offset amplification. The output voltage from the amplifier circuit is controlled to be at a predetermined level, for example, 3.0V, and the CPU detects rainfall based on the drop in the output voltage from the predetermined level, 3.0V. Then it becomes possible to improve sensor sensitivity, maintain a small sensor size, and a low manufacturing cost.

Vehicle windshield rain sensor

A raindrop detecting apparatus has a temperature sensor, an EEPROM, a processor and a raindrop sensor. A temperature characteristic data is defined by a first temperature data of the temperature sensor and a first output data of the raindrop sensor produced at a first temperature condition, and stored in the EEPROM. The processor updates a raindrop detection threshold by using the stored characteristic data, a second temperature data and a second output data produced at a second temperature, when an engine is started under no-raindrop condition. The processor compares an output data of the raindrop sensor with the raindrop detection threshold to detect a raindrop, while converting at least one of the characteristic data and the output data in correspondence with a temperature data produced at a raindrop detection time.

Raindrop detecting method and apparatus having temperature-dependent characteristic compensation

A raindrop detection apparatus has an amplifier circuit, including a plurality of resistors and resistor selection switches. The control circuit performs the first adjustment to an output of the amplifier circuit, roughly adjusting the output to a target value. The first adjustment is made by selecting one of or a combination of resistors. The control circuit then performs the second adjustment to the output, closely adjusting the output to the target value. The second adjustment is made by adjusting a driving instruction signal, which actually adjusts a light emitting device driving current. These adjustments are performed after an IG switch and an AUTO mode switch of a wiper switch are turned on.

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Kariya, Japan

Junichi Ishikawa