JPH037641A - Wiper controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent malfunction by a method wherein, when the integrating time of rain drop pulse exceeds a time threshold, even if the integrating value of the rain drop does not reach at a level threshold lower than a control threshold, the integrating value is made to be clear without operating wiper. CONSTITUTION:A rain drop pulse from a rain drop sensor 10 is inputted into a wiper controller 20 through an input circuit 12 and is integrated at CPU 11 so that, as the rain drop integrating value reaches a specified control threshold value R1 within the integrating time under a specified time threshold value, a wiper 30 is driven through a wiper drive circuit 14 and then the action is recognized through a cam SW 32 and an input circuit 13. In this case, when the integrating time extends time threshold value, even if a rain drop pulse integrating value does not reach a level threshold value R2 lower than a control threshold value R1, the integrating value is made to be clear. Therefore, it is possible to make an auto-wiper action in a small rainfall proper so as to prevent the malfunction.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding a wiper control device that automatically controls the intermittent operation cycle of a wiper by integrating raindrop pulses, the purpose of this device is to optimize operation during minute rainfall. The wiper control device integrates the pulses and, when the integrated value reaches a predetermined control threshold, clears the integrated value and operates the wiper. a threshold and a level threshold lower than the predetermined control threshold, and when the cumulative time exceeds the time threshold, if the cumulative value has not reached the level threshold; , the integrated value is cleared without operating the wiper.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a wiper control device that automatically controls the intermittent operation cycle of a wiper by integrating raindrop pulses.

Auto wipers, whose operating cycle automatically changes according to the amount of rainfall, are convenient because they require less operational burden on the driver (and can maintain good driving visibility). difficult to convert.

[Prior Art] A typical auto wiper detects raindrops using a raindrop sensor and integrates the output (raindrop pulse). When this integrated value reaches a predetermined control threshold, the wiper is operated once, and at the same time, the integrated value is cleared and integration is resumed from there. Therefore, the intermittent operation cycle of the wiper changes in inverse proportion to the amount of rainfall.

There are two types of this type of auto wiper. One is a fully automatic type (infinitely intermittent type) in which there is no limit to the intermittent operation cycle, and the other is a semi-automatic type in which the maximum value of the intermittent operation cycle is determined. In other words, the fully automatic type operates the wiper only when the cumulative value of raindrop pulses reaches the control threshold. On the other hand, the semi-automatic method also measures the elapsed time after the start of integration, so that the pulse integration value does not reach the control threshold (also known as
When the elapsed time (integrated time) exceeds a predetermined time threshold, the wiper is operated once and the pulse integrated value and integrated time are cleared at the same time.

Incidentally, even if raindrops from a small amount of rainfall adhere to the windshield, they do not obstruct the driver's visibility much, and may evaporate naturally while driving. Even in such a slight rain condition, if it continues for a long time, in the fully automatic type, the pulse integrated value will eventually reach the control threshold, and the wiper will operate once at that point. This wiper operation is not expected or expected by the driver at all and is therefore unpleasant and confusing. Such a sudden wiper operation occurs when a sudden noise is mixed in and the pulse integrated value increases rapidly.

In the Semi-O formula 1), the pulse integrated value is cleared at a time threshold, so there are almost no unexpected wiper operations. However, since the time threshold is a finite value, an infinite cycle wiper operation like a fully automatic type cannot be expected. In other words,
Unnecessary wiper operations are performed during slight rainfall.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention aims to solve the problems of conventional fully automatic and semi-automatic wipers, and to realize an intermittent operation of endless cycles, which is ideal for an automatic wiper and is free from malfunctions.

[Means to solve the problem]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present invention, in which 10 is a raindrop sensor, 20 is a wiper control device, and 30 is a wiper. Raindrop sensor 10
For example, in an optical type, when a raindrop passes between a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing each other, a raindrop pulse is output. The wiper control device 10 includes a microcomputer (CPU) il, an input circuit 1213, a wiper drive circuit 14, etc.
The input circuit 12 binarizes the analog raindrop pulse and converts it into C
Enter in PUII. The CPU II integrates the raindrop pulses, and when a certain condition is met, sends a flash to the wiper drive circuit 14 to operate the wiper 30 once.

The wiper 30 has a wiper morph 31 that swings a wiper blade (not shown), and switches to the power supply iG side (ON) during wiper operation, and returns to the ground side (OF) when the wiper operation is completed.
F) includes a cam SW (switch) 32. Second
The input circuit 13 inputs the state of this cam 5W32 to the CPU
1 to confirm the wiper operation. The wiper drive circuit 14 outputs a drive signal to rotate the motor 31 during wiper operation, and when the wiper operation is completed (cam 5W
32) outputs a braking signal to forcibly stop the motor 3''. The above is a general configuration.

In the present invention, CPU], 1 clips the pulse integrated value
At t+, a threshold value and a time threshold value are set for not operating the wiper 30.

(Operation) As shown in A and A' in Fig. 2, the raindrop pulses are integrated from the integrated time T-0 (the time of clearing, that is, the previous wiper operation timing), and the integrated value R reaches the predetermined control threshold R1. The basic principle of an auto wiper is to clear the integrated value (R←0) and operate the wiper once when the accumulated value reaches zero.
All fully automatic systems follow this principle.

On the other hand, with a semi-automatic auto wiper, the integrated value R is the limit? In a case like B in which the cumulative time T passes the predetermined time threshold T1 without reaching the threshold value R), the cumulative value R is cleared when T-T1 is reached and the wiper is turned on. Operate once. Of course, in the case of A, the operation is the same as the fully automatic type.

In the present invention, the level threshold R lower than the control threshold R1
2, and if R<R2 when T=T1 is reached, the integrated value R is cleared. However, the wiper does not operate at this time. Note that this time threshold does not necessarily have to be a semi-automatic time threshold.

By setting such a level threshold R2 and a time threshold T1, the fully automatic type eliminates unnecessary wiper operations during slight rainfall and sudden malfunctions due to noise.

On the other hand, in the semi-automatic type, there are cases where the wiper does not operate even when the time threshold TI is reached, so the intermittent cycle becomes long (and becomes close to that of the fully automatic type) during times of slight rainfall.

〔Example〕

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

After initializing the RAM, clearing, etc. in step S1, raindrop pulses are integrated in step S2. and,
In step S3, the integrated value is compared with the control threshold value R1, and if the integrated value is small, the timer is incremented in step S4. This timer is for measuring cumulative time. Step S5 compares this accumulated time with a time threshold TI, and if the accumulated time is small, the process returns to step S2. The above is R in Figure 2.
<R1 and T<T1.

On the other hand, when the integrated value becomes large in step S3, the integrated value is cleared in step S6, the timer is cleared in step S7, and the wiper is turned on in step S8. After this, the cam SW is turned ON once, and after confirming that it has returned to OFF, the wiper is turned OFF (step 8).
9-511).

This is the case in Figure 2A.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that TI has elapsed, the integrated value is compared with the level threshold value R2 in step S12. If it is determined that the integrated value is small, the integrated value is cleared in step S13, the timer is cleared in step SL4, and the process returns to step S2. This is the case in Figure 2C.

Incidentally, the case shown in FIG. 2B is such that when it is determined in step S12 that the integrated value is large, the process moves to step S6.

The above-mentioned time threshold T1 is, for example, 30 seconds, and the level threshold R2 is, for example, 1 / of the control threshold R1.
Set to a value of 10.

Next 1. An example of application to a semi-automatic mode switching method will be explained. Mode switching means that when there are wiper modes as shown in the table below, the mode is automatically changed according to the amount of rainfall.

This mode switching includes mode up, which shortens the cycle, and mode down, which lengthens the cycle.Maintaining the current state is called mode keeping.

Conventional mode switching is performed as shown in FIG. 5(a). The figure shows 0. -R1, O to T1 correspond to that in FIG. 2, and the area outside of that range is used for displaying each mode. R1,,T
When l is the same value as in Fig. 2, the mode down threshold (level) R3 is, for example, about R1/2, and 0.8 T.
A mode up threshold (time) T2 of about 1 is set. When the integration characteristic is , the mode is up, when it is B, the mode is kept, and when the integration characteristic is C, the mode is down. In this example, T1 is also called WOT (wiper operating time).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the semi-automatic mode switching described above. Initialization in step 321, raindrop pulse integration in step S22, and integrated value comparison in step S23 are the same as steps 81 to S3 in FIG. 3.

If it is determined in step S23 that the integrated value has reached the control threshold R1, then in step S24 the integrated time at that time is determined. At this point, the mode is set to 0. If it is determined that the threshold T2 has not yet passed, there is a lot of rainfall, so
In step 325, the mode is increased (for example, from IOS mode to 53 mode) so as to shorten the operation cycle, and in step $26, WOT is reset.

On the other hand, in step S27, the integrated value remains small in step 323.
If it is determined that WOT has passed, the integrated value at that time is compared with the mode down threshold R3 in step 328, and if the integrated value is small, the amount of rainfall is small, so the operation cycle (intermittent time) is
In step 329, the mode is down (for example, from 10S mode to 203 mode) so as to lengthen the WOT, and in step 330, WOT is reset.

In other cases, when the integrated value reaches R1, T
If it takes 2 or more (Steps 823 and 324), and if R3 is exceeded but not R1 after WOT has passed (Steps S23, 327, 528), the operating cycle is approximately compatible with the amount of rainfall. It is determined that the mode is kept in step 331, and the same operating cycle WOT as the previous time is reset in step S32.

After the above mode switching is performed, wiper control corresponding to each mode is performed from step 333 onwards. That is, it is determined in step S33 whether it is Hi mode, and if Y (yes), step 334. Turn on Hi and turn off Lo with S35
Then, the process returns to step S22. When the result in step S33 is N (no), it is determined in step 336 whether it is Lo mode,
If Y, step 337. Hi at S38, 0FFL,
Turn on LO. If N at step 336, the wiper is operated only once because it is an intermittent operation. This can be done as follows. That is, when Ht is turned OFF in step 339 and Lo is turned ON in step S40, the wiper starts low-speed operation. After this step S41
．． The cam SW is driven in S42, and when it changes from ON to OFF, Lo is turned OFF in step 343. This allows you to limit the wiper operation to one time.

If the level threshold value R2 in FIG. 2 is increased by 1 2 in a semi-automatic auto wiper that performs such mode switching, mode switching as shown in FIG. 5(t) or (C) can be performed.

FIG. 5(b) shows that in the longest mode (20s mode in the example of FIG. 4), the mode-down threshold value R3
Since it is not possible to down the mode of H, the level threshold value R2
This is a method that classifies mode keeping into two types.

In other words, mode keep 1 can clear the integrated value and perform wiper control in the same way as the conventional mode keep. Instead of expanding this area from R3 to R2, a new mode keep 2 will be added that cannot be controlled by the wiper. In this mode keep 2, only the integrated value is cleared.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart in this case. This example is the 6th
Step S28 in the figure. S29. Step S31 to step S51
, 352. This has been changed to S53. Step S5
1 is a comparison between the integrated value and R2, and if the integrated value is small, the process branches to mode keep 2 in step S52, and if the integrated value is large, the process branches to mode keep 1 in step S53. In mode keep 1, the integrated value is cleared and the wiper operation is performed after the WOT has elapsed, but in mode keep 2, only the integrated value is cleared and the wiper operation is not performed.

Other processing is the same as in FIG.

In FIG. 5(C), mode down is classified into two types based on the threshold value R2. That is, if the integrated value is equal to or less than R2 when the WOT has passed, mode down 2 is set, and if it is between R2 and R3, mode down 1 is set. Mode I Down 1 is a mode down accompanied by wiper operation, whereas Mode Down 2
does not involve wiper operation.

Such a mode down 2 occurs when, for example, it stops raining while operating in Lo mode (for example, entering a tunnel), in the conventional mode down, Lo → 2s → 5s-10s-2
The wiper operates while switching to 0s, but this can be prevented (the integrated value is cleared while the mode is down, but the wiper does not operate). On the other hand, Mode Down 1 involves a wiper operation, which is necessary in order to cope with a gradual decrease in rainfall as in the conventional case.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing this process.

3 4 In this example, step S29 in FIG. 6 is replaced with steps 361 to S6.
6. Step S61 is the integrated value and R.
2, and if it is determined that the integrated value is large, mode down 1 processing is performed in step S66. In this case, WOT is reset in step S30, and step S33
Move to. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S61 that the integrated value is small, mode down 2 processing is performed in step S62, and WOT is reset in step S63. In this case, step S64. In S65, both Hi and Lo are turned off to prohibit wiper operation. Other processing is the same as in FIG.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention has the advantage of optimizing the automatic wiper operation during slight rainfall, preventing malfunctions of fully automatic wipers, and making semi-automatic wipers infinitely intermittent.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the invention, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the wiper mode, and Fig. 5 is a mode switching diagram. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the process of FIG. 5(a), FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a raindrop sensor, 20 is a wiper control device, 30
is a wiper. Applicant Fujitsu Ten Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Wiper control that integrates raindrop pulses from a raindrop sensor, and when the integrated value reaches a predetermined control threshold (R1), clears the integrated value and operates the wiper. In the device, a predetermined time threshold (T1) for determining the cumulative time of the raindrop pulse and a level threshold (R2) lower than the predetermined control threshold (R1) are set; When exceeds the time threshold (T1), if the integrated value has not reached the level threshold (R2), the integrated value is cleared without operating the wiper. A wiper control device featuring: