Windshield deicing system and control
AssigneeFca US LLC
InventorsSreekanth Surapaneni, Uday Kiran Mahakali
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is provided a system and method for monitoring snow or ice accumulation on a vehicle window by a user with a mobile device. The system includes a camera directed to at least a portion of a window in the vehicle. The system further comprises a heating element, a blower and vents. Images from the camera may be sent to a mobile device that can be displayed on a screen. These images can be used to determine the presence of snow or ice, and the amount of clearing of snow or ice that has been achieved after activation of the system.
Claims17
A system for monitoring snow or ice accumulation on a vehicle window comprising:
- a camera adapted to be directed toward a vehicle window and adapted to view at least a portion of the vehicle window, and adapted to capture images of the vehicle window;
- a blower adapted to blow air onto the vehicle window;
- a non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, are adapted to
- a) cause an image captured by the camera to be displayed on a mobile device and;
- b) control airflow onto at least a portion of the vehicle window.
A method for monitoring snow or ice accumulation on a vehicle window by a user with a mobile device comprising:
- directing a camera toward a portion of a vehicle window to capture an image of the portion of the vehicle window;
- providing the image to a mobile device;
- and
- directing the airflow to at least a portion of a vehicle window to clear the at least a portion of a vehicle window of snow or ice.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.