Surface condition estimating apparatus

An apparatus for estimating a surface condition of a plate object, comprising:

• a lighting unit for generating light toward the plate object;
• a light sensor for converting brightness variations of the light impinging on the plate object into an electrical signal;
• a processing unit for processing the electrical signal fed thereto from the light sensor for producing a plurality of image segments forming a full image of the surface of the plate object;
• and
• an estimating unit for estimating the surface condition of the plate object based on a defective portion included in each of the image segments, the estimating unit including means for providing a heavier weight on a defective portion of at least one of the image segments than that of the other image segments.

An apparatus for estimating an efficiency of a wind-shield wiper provided for wiping a surface of a wind-shield glass plate, comprising:

• a lighting unit for generating light toward the wind-shield glass plate;
• a light sensor for converting brightness variations of the light impinging on the wind-shield glass plate into an electrical signal;
• a processing unit for processing the electrical signal fed thereto from the light sensor for producing a plurality of image segments forming a full image of the surface of the wind-shield glass plate;
• and
• an estimating unit for estimating the efficiency of the wind-shield wiper based on a defective portion included in each of the image segments, the estimating unit including means for providing a heavier weight on a defective portion of at least one of the image segments than that of the other image segments.