Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited

Shuhei Tanaka

Tadashi Koyama

Keiji Tsunetomo

Yukihisa Kusuda

Hideki Imanishi

Kiyoshi Tone

Hisao Nagata

Seiji Ohno

Norman A Peppers

Gerald A Pierce

James R Young

Kazuo Katsuki

Takashi Tagami

Yasunao Kuroda

Nobuyuki Komaba

Shunsuke Ohtsuka

Keiji Oyoshi

A rain sensor including light emitting means for guiding light into a window glass so as to undergo total internal reflection within the window glass, light receiving means for receiving the light which has undergone total internal reflection within the window glass, and means for detecting the amount of water drops adhered to or present upon the window glass so as to output a driving signal to a wiper driver apparatus a difference signal corresponding to a difference between a preset reference value and an output signal of an amplifier circuit of the light receiving means is fed back to the amplifier and an amplification factor of the amplifier circuit is adjusted so as to maintain the output signal thereof at a constant value irrespective of the operation condition of the wiper, when electrical power is applied to the rain sensor Furthermore, in a protecting method for the rain sensor a driving current fed to light emitting element is measured and converted into an ambient temperature, and a driving current supplied to the light emitting element by the driver circuit is stopped when the converted value is outside a preset temperature range, by turning a switch circuit to OFF.

Method for stabilizing output of rain sensor and protection method therefor

In a method for detecting liquid drops adhering upon a front windshield with superior sensitivity but without obstructing drivers, a light beam emitted from a light emitting element,is guided into a light guiding body,, and after undergoing total internal reflection within light guiding body,, it is guided into a front windshield G. The light guided into the front windshield G is received by a light receiving element,after repeated total internal reflections within the front windshield G. In this instance, when raindrops adhere on the outside surface of the front windshield G and the adhering points are at the total internal reflection points of the light mentioned above, then the light beam guided into the front windshield G passes through and goes out from the windshield G without undergoing total internal reflection therein. As the result of this, the amount of the light beam received by the light receiving element decreases, thereby enabling detection of adhesion of raindrops based thereon, so as to output a signal for driving a wiper equipment or the like.

Liquid drop detection method and apparatus therefor

A water drop detection device for detecting an amount of water drops present upon a surface of a transparent substrate in which a light source with a driver circuit guides light into the substrate so as to cause the light to under go internal reflection within the substrate. The light source has a light emitting element and a receiving light sensing element for detecting the light output from the emitting element. The light output from the light emitting element is modulated by a predetermined frequency. A signal corresponding to the modulated component is separated from the output signal of the receiving light sensing element. The output light emission of the light emitting element is maintained at a desired value by feeding the separated signal back to the driver circuit of the light emitting element.

Water drop detector on transparent substrate and initiating method and output stabilizing method therefor

A wiper controller apparatus of the water drop sensitive type comprises: light emitting means,for guiding light into a window glass so as to undergo total internal reflection within said window glass; light receiving means,for receiving the light which has undergone total internal reflection within said window glass; means for detecting the amount of water drops adhered or present upon an outside surface of said window glass based on an output of said light receiving means, and for driving a wiper thereupon; wherein the apparatus further comprises wiper driving means,for driving the wiper again by only one cycle if a time interval from an initiation of said wiper action exceeds a predetermined time. The apparatus further comprises anther wiper driving means,for driving said wiper when the signal duration time of the output signal S,of said light receiving means,is equal to or greater than a predetermined time.

Wiper controller apparatus of water drop sensitive type

A water drop detection sensor for detecting water drops W adhering to or present upon a windshield by detecting changes in an amount of reflection light and also for detecting the ambient brightness outside of a car or other vehicle, comprising: a windshield 2; a light emitting means 5 for introducing detection light into the windshield 2; and a light receiving means 6 for detecting reflected detection light. The reflected detection light is reflected by total internal reflection within the windshield 2, and the light emitting means 5 and said light receiving means 6 are provided on the windshield 2.

Water drop detection sensor

A liquid drop detector which may be fixed or attached by a simple operation, without machining, to a window glass, includes a light emitting element, a light receiving element and light guiding bodies wherein the light emitted by the light emitting element is introduced through a diffraction grating into a first light guiding body and after undergoing total internal reflection within the first light guiding body it is introduced through a silicon member, through an elongated light guiding body, through an additional silicon member, and into a windshield. After traveling within the windshield by total internal reflection, the light passes through a silicon member, reenters the elongated light guiding body, passes through another silicon member and enters a second light guiding body which guides it to a receiver. When rain drops adhere to the outside surface of the windshield at points corresponding to the total internal reflection points at the outer surface of the windshield, the light will leak out of the windshield. As a result of this, the amount of light received by the light receiving element is lessened, thereby providing for detection of the adhesion of rain drops based thereupon so as to output a signal for driving a device such as the windshield wiper.

Multilayer, cushioned liquid drop detector

A water drop detection device for detecting an amount of water drops present upon a surface of a transparent substrate in which a light source with a driver circuit guides light into the substrate so as to cause the light to under go internal reflection within the substrate. The light source has a light emitting element and a receiving light sensing element for detecting the light output from the emitting element. The light outputted from the light emitting element is modulated by a predetermined frequency. A signal corresponding to the modulated component is separated from the output signal of the receiving light sensing element. The output light emission of the light emitting element is controlled as a desired value by feeding the separated signal back to the driver circuit of the light emitting element.

Water drop detector or transparent substrate and initiating method and

A windshield (transparent substrate) 1 having the function of detecting the presence of water drops W upon one side surface of the windshield depending upon variations in an amount of reflected light, comprising a rain sensor provided on the other side surface of the windshield, which further comprises: light emitting means 6 for guiding light into the windshield 1; light receiving means 7 for detecting the light which is reflected within the windshield 1; and, light shielding members 10 and 11 provided on the other side surface of the windshield 1 opposing the light emitting means 6 and the light receiving means 7, respectively; wherein the light shielding member 10 shields the light emitted from the light emitting means 6 at an incident angle less than a critical angle at which total internal reflection occurs at a boundary surface between air and the windshield 1, while the other shielding member 11 shields outside ambient light incident upon the light receiving means 7.

Water drop detector on transparent substrate

A front windshield 1 having a rain sensor 2 for detecting the adhesion or presence of water drops W upon one side surface thereof, depending upon variation in an amount of reflected light, wherein the rain sensor 2 comprises: a light emitting element 7 for introducing a sensing light beam into the front windshield 1; a light receiving element 8 for detecting the light beam which is propagated by total internal reflection within the front windshield 1; and diffraction gratings 5, 6 formed on a surface of a glass substrate 4, through which the light emitting element 7 and the light receiving element 8 are provided on glass surface, whereby the rain sensor 2 is adhered on the other side surface of the front windshield 1 by means of an adhesive material 3 having a refractive index equivalent to that of the glass substrate 4.

Transparent substrate having rain sensor

A wiper control apparatus of the water drop sensitive type for detecting of the amount of water or water drops adhering to or present upon the front surface of a windshield and for driving a wiper, comprising: a light emitting means for introducing light into the inside of the windshield so that the light experiences total internal reflection upon interior surfaces of the windshield; a light receiving means for receiving the light reflected within the windshield; means for turning a first output D1, a second output D2, and a third output D3 to either an H level or an L level in response to the level of a signal output from the light receiving means, the outputs being preset in sequence of height of sensitivity thereof; means for outputting a drive signal WD for the wiper when outputs D1, D2, and D3 are switched into the H level; means for maintaining the drive signal as long as the second output signal D2 is in the H level even if the third output D3 turns to the L level; and means for stopping the drive signal WD for the wiper when the second output D2 turns OFF.

Wiper control apparatus

A self scanning light-emitting array is disclosed. A coupled array of light-emitting elements is constituted so that a light-emitting element in a minimal conducting state influences the next light-emitting element so that its threshold level is changed. When each element is driven by a common clock pulse, the change in threshold level is shifted in the longitudinal direction, so that a minimal conducting state is transferred in a clock period of the clock pulse.

Self-scanning light-emitting array

A self-scanning light-emitting element array is disclosed. A coupled array of light-emitting elements is constituted so that a light-emitting element which is turned on influences a light-emitting element to be turned on next so that its threshold level is changed. When each element is clock-driven by a common drive pulse, the change in threshold level is shifted in the array direction, so that a turn-on operation is transferred in a clock period of the drive pulse.

Self-scanning light-emitting array and a driving method of the array

A semiconductor light emitting diode (LED) has a pn junction, a pin junction or a similar junction formed in a polycrystalline layer with a large grain size. The LED is produced on an amorphous, ceramic, polycrystalline or monocrystalline substrate according to a crystalline growth method and light is emitted by injecting an electric current into the junction.

Semiconductor light emitting device

In the manufacture of ultrafine particles of semiconductor compound, pulse laser with high output is irradiated on an evaporation source having the same or similar composition as the above semiconductor compound to evaporate the source in a moment and the ultrafine particles of the semiconductor compound are produced utilizing the nuclear growth in inert gas. A process wherein a material for ultrafine particles is heated/evaporated by laser in inert gas and the resulting vapor is rapidly cooled by a collision with the inert gas whereby the resulting ultrafine particles of said material is sticked on a base plate and another process wherein a material for matrix is heated/evaporated by laser whereby the matrix is formed on the base plate are carried out alternately so that the ultrafine particles are homogeneously dispersed in the matrix to prepare the material wherein the ultrafine particles are dispersed.

Method of preparing ultrafine particle dispersion material

A self-scanning, light-emitting device comprises an array of cells or blocks each having a self-scanning transfer element and a light-emitting element. Turn-on state of the transfer element is transferred to the subsequent transfer element in synchronism with clock pulses. Each light-emitting element is connected to the corresponding transfer element so as to emit light upon supplying current under an ON state of the transfer element. The light-emitting array generates a light image in accordance with a light emission current.

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Osaka, Japan

Shuhei Tanaka