Method of controlling the operation of a rear wiper system of a motor vehicle
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsThemi Philemon Petridis, Nils Schloesser
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system for detecting the presence of a carrier mounted on the rear of a motor vehicle or of an object carried by the carrier that may cause damage or a malfunction of a rear wiper system of the motor vehicle. If a potentially obstructing situation is determined to be present, the rear wiper system is deactivated to prevent it malfunctioning or being damaged by the obstruction. A user of the vehicle may be provided with a message that an obstruction has been detected and the user may control whether the wiper system is deactivated. The obstruction may be sensed by monitoring the amount of current drawn by a wiper motor, by an ultrasonic sensor, or by a rear-view camera.
Claims10
A method of controlling operation of a wiper system for a rear screen of a motor vehicle, the wiper system comprising a wiper arm and a motor to move the wiper arm, the method comprising:
- operating a rear-view camera to detect an object carrier mounted to the vehicle in a position expected to obstruct motion of the wiper arm;
- and
- deactivating the wiper system if the object carrier is mounted to the vehicle.
A motor vehicle adapted to receive a carrier for transporting an object mounted on a rear end thereof adjacent to a rear screen, comprising:
- a wiper system having a wiper arm for clearing the rear screen and a motor moving the wiper arm;
- and
- a rear-view camera detecting whether at least one of the carrier and the object is in an obstructing position expected to obstruct movement of the wiper arm and generating a signal indicating that at least one of the carrier and the object is in the obstructing position;
- and
- an electronic controller operably connected with the camera to receive the signal and deactivating the wiper system in response to the signal.
A wiper system for clearing a rear screen of a motor vehicle adapted to receive a carrier for transporting an object mounted on a rear end thereof adjacent to the rear screen, comprising:
- a wiper arm movable to clear the rear screen;
- a motor moving the wiper arm;
- a rear-view camera for detecting the carrier and/or the object and generating a signal vindicating that the carrier and/or the object is in a position expected to inhibit motion of the wiper arm;
- and
- an electronic controller receiving the signal from the rear-view camera and operative in response thereto to prevent the motor from moving the wiper arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.