Rain-controlled windshield wipers

Abstract

An electronic control system for windshield wipers on motor vehicles for initiating wiping action in response to the occurrence and level of precipitation on the windshield. A sensor unit comprising a block containing an array of photo-sensors arranged in a bridge configuration and a corresponding array of light sources is mounted on the inside surface of the windshield at a location traversed by the path of the vehicle's windshield wiper blades. The photo-sensor elements are oriented to normally receive light reflected back from the glass/air interface at the outside windshield surface from the photo-emitters, but when rain is present on the windshield, the light rays are scattered to create an unbalanced condition. The unbalancing of the bridge creates a signal which is demodulated in a synchronous demodulator and then applied via an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit to a window comparator. The comparator output is, in turn, applied to a voltage-controlled oscillator such that the frequency of the pulse produced thereby is determined by the precipitation level. The oscillator output then is applied to a wiper motor relay to pulse the same into operation. The use of the synchronous demodulator, AGC error amplifier and window comparator results in a system which operates in a reliable manner under severe ambient conditions.