阅读说明：本技术 清洁雨刮器的方法、控制装置及雨刮器系统和车辆 (Method for cleaning windscreen wiper, control device, windscreen wiper system and vehicle ) 是由 边思默 于 2018-09-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于清洁雨刮器的方法以及一种相应的控制装置,所述方法包括下列步骤：使雨刮器运动到位于其两个终端位置之间的第一位置中；使雨刮器从所述第一位置沿着挡风玻璃表面进行短行程的往复运动；使雨刮器返回到初始位置或使雨刮器进行正常的刮除运行。本发明还涉及一种包括雨刮器和所述控制装置的雨刮器系统和车辆。(The invention relates to a method for cleaning a wiper blade and a corresponding control device, the method comprising the following steps: moving the wiper blade into a first position between its two end positions; reciprocating the wiper blade from the first position along the windshield surface for a short stroke; the wiper blade is returned to the initial position or is subjected to a normal wiping operation. The invention also relates to a wiper system and a vehicle comprising a wiper blade and said control device.)

1. A method for cleaning a wiper blade, said method comprising the steps of:

moving the wiper blade into a first position (101) located between its two end positions;

-a short stroke reciprocating movement (102) of the wiper blade from said first position along the windscreen surface;

the wiper blade is returned to an initial position or is subjected to a normal wiping operation (103).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wiper blade is reciprocated a plurality of times along the windshield surface from the first position in a sequence of "down-up-down" or "up-down-up".

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the maximum swing angle of the short stroke reciprocating movement from the first position is 15 °, preferably 10 °, particularly preferably 5 °.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterised in that the minimum swing angle of the short stroke reciprocating movement from the first position is 1 °, preferably 2 °, particularly preferably 3 °.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the wiper blade is reciprocated at a high-speed oscillating frequency.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method for cleaning the wiper blade is stopped when there is a resistance on the wiper blade due to icing.

7. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method can be set to be turned on or off by default via a human-machine interface.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method for cleaning a wiper blade is started immediately after the wiper blade is used or when a driver unlocks a vehicle equipped with the wiper blade.

9. A control device for controlling a wiper blade to clean the wiper blade, the control device comprising:

an activation module (10) for moving the wiper blade into a first position between its two end positions;

a memory (20) having computer-executable instructions stored therein;

a processor (30) configured to execute computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are executed by the processor to drive an actuator of a wiper blade to reciprocate the wiper blade from the first position along a windshield surface for a short stroke when the activation module is activated; and

and the deactivation module (40) is used for returning the windscreen wiper to the initial position or enabling the windscreen wiper to carry out normal wiping operation.

10. The control device of claim 9, wherein the control device is capable of reciprocating the wiper blade from the first position a plurality of times along the windshield surface in a sequence of "down-up-down" or "up-down-up".

11. Control device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the maximum swing angle of the short stroke reciprocating movement from the first position is 15 °, preferably 10 °, particularly preferably 5 °.

12. Control arrangement according to claim 11, characterized in that the minimum swing angle of the short stroke reciprocating movement from the first position is 1 °, preferably 2 °, particularly preferably 3 °.

13. The control device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the control device is capable of reciprocating the wiper blade at a high-speed oscillating frequency.

14. The control device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the control device stops the reciprocating movement of the short stroke of the wiper blade when there is resistance on the wiper blade due to icing.

15. Control device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the control device can be set to be activated or deactivated by default via a human machine interface.

16. Control device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the control device can be activated immediately after use of the wiper blade or when the driver unlocks the vehicle equipped with the wiper blade.

17. Control arrangement according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the control arrangement is part of a central vehicle controller or is a separate control unit.

18. A wiper blade system comprising a wiper blade and a control device as claimed in one of claims 9 to 17.

19. A vehicle comprising the wiper system of claim 18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method of one of claims 1 to 8.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a wiper blade, a control device for controlling a wiper blade to clean the wiper blade, and a wiper system and a vehicle comprising such a control device.

Background

The wiper is one of important accessories of an automobile, and is a device for wiping off raindrops and dust attached to front and rear windshields of the automobile so as to improve the visibility of a driver and improve the driving safety. The wiper blade generally includes a wiper body and a wiper blade disposed on the wiper body. Wiper blades are generally made of rubber materials, are heat resistant, cold resistant, acid and alkali resistant, corrosion resistant, resilient and tough, and can be well attached to windshields.

In drier areas, the air contains a lot of sand and/or dust, and the windscreen will quickly become covered with sand and/or dust. In general, a driver removes dirt particles such as sand and/or dust by using a wiper blade, and often does not use a cleaning liquid. These contaminants may then adhere to the rubber surface of the wiper blade, which may damage the wiper blade after a short period of time. Since sand and/or dust accumulates on the wiper blade, the effectiveness of the wiper blade may be reduced, and may even scratch the windshield of the vehicle, thereby reducing the visibility and driving safety of the driver.

In the prior art, additional hardware (brushes, telescopic devices, etc.) are used to try to solve this technical problem.

For example, document CN20592556U discloses a wiper blade, which includes a rubber strip, wherein a blade group is disposed on an upper end surface of the rubber strip, the blade group includes 2 blades, two adjacent blades are disposed at an interval, outer side surfaces of the two blades are both provided with grooves extending along an axial direction of the blades, and the outer side surfaces of the blades are surfaces facing side walls of the rubber strip. The utility model discloses a set up additional doctor-bar and set up a longitudinal groove respectively for the doctor-bar in the outside, this has increased manufacturing and installation cost, because each doctor-bar structure is different and has increased the component variety.

Further, document CN205524140U discloses an automotive wiper blade. This car wiper includes wiper body, the wiper blade and the wiper control unit that are equipped with on the wiper body, the wiper body on still be equipped with a telescoping device, this telescoping device's flexible end is connected with a brush-holder stud, the lower extreme of brush-holder stud be provided with the brush, and when the flexible end of telescoping device when the extension, the lower extreme of brush is less than the lower extreme of wiper blade, the lower extreme of wiper body is equipped with the blowing nozzle of being connected through pipeline and car ventilation system. So that dust and sand particles on the windshield can be removed through the additionally arranged telescopic device, the brush and the air blowing nozzle.

Therefore, the prior art has the disadvantages that the manufacturing and assembling costs are high and the structure is complicated because additional hardware components are provided to remove particles such as sand and/or dust from the wiper blade.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for cleaning a wiper blade and a control device for controlling a wiper blade to clean the wiper blade, by which the disadvantages of the prior art can be overcome and the service life of the wiper blade can be increased in a simple and cost-effective manner.

According to the method of the present invention, particles of sand and/or dust attached to the wiper blade are removed by a rapid and slight reciprocating movement of the wiper blade, because the dust and/or sand tends not to adhere to the wiper blade with extreme stickiness in dry areas. Therefore, dirt particles such as dust and/or sand on the windshield can be removed effectively and cost-effectively without additional hardware, so that the service life of the wiper blade in dry and sandy/dusty areas is increased.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for cleaning a wiper blade, the method comprising the steps of:

moving the wiper blade into a first position between its two end positions;

reciprocating the wiper blade from a first position along the windshield surface for a short stroke;

the wiper blade is returned to the initial position or is subjected to a normal wiping operation.

In the present invention, the "short stroke" refers to a stroke that is short with respect to the entire moving stroke of the wiper blade in the normal running state.

By such a short stroke reciprocating motion, sand and/or dust adhering to the wiper blade may be loosened and further released from the wiper blade.

Alternatively, the wiper blade is reciprocated a certain number of times along the windshield surface from the first position in the order of "down-up-down" or "up-down-up". Therefore, the driver can select the reciprocating times according to the actual situation and needs, so as to achieve the expected sand removing and dust removing effects.

Optionally, the short stroke reciprocating motion is: the maximum pivoting angle of the short stroke of the reciprocating movement starting from the first position is 15 °, preferably 10 °, particularly preferably 5 °. Preferably, the minimum pivoting angle of the short stroke of the reciprocating movement starting from the first position is 1 °, preferably 2 °, particularly preferably 3 °.

Alternatively, the wiper blade is reciprocated at a low-speed oscillating frequency. Alternatively, the wiper blade is reciprocated at a high-speed oscillating frequency. Generally, the wiper is provided with a low-speed oscillating frequency and a high-speed oscillating frequency. The user can select according to the condition of sand and/or dust stained by the windscreen wiper so as to achieve the optimized dust removal effect.

Alternatively, the method for cleaning the wiper blade is stopped when there is resistance on the wiper blade due to icing. Thereby preventing the wiper blade from being damaged due to running at the time of freezing.

Optionally, the method can be set to be turned on or off by default through a human-computer interaction interface.

Alternatively, the present method for cleaning the wiper blade is started immediately after the wiper blade is used or started when the driver unlocks the vehicle equipped with the wiper blade.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention also provides a control device for controlling a wiper blade to clean the wiper blade, the control device including: an activation module for moving the wiper blade into a first position between its two end positions; a memory having computer-executable instructions stored therein; a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are executed by the processor to drive an actuator of a wiper blade to reciprocate the wiper blade from a first position along a windshield surface for a short stroke when the activation module is activated; and the deactivation module is used for returning the windscreen wiper to an initial position or enabling the windscreen wiper to carry out normal wiping operation.

Alternatively, the control device can reciprocate the wiper blade from the first position a certain number of times along the windshield surface in the order of "down-up-down" or "up-down-up".

Optionally, the short stroke reciprocating motion is: the maximum pivoting angle of the short stroke of the reciprocating movement starting from the first position is 15 °, preferably 10 °, particularly preferably 5 °. Preferably, the minimum pivoting angle of the short stroke of the reciprocating movement starting from the first position is 1 °, preferably 2 °, particularly preferably 3 °.

Alternatively, the control device can reciprocate the wiper blade at a low-speed oscillating frequency. Alternatively, the control device can reciprocate the wiper blade at a high-speed oscillating frequency.

The control device stops the wiper blade from performing the short stroke reciprocating motion when there is resistance on the wiper blade due to icing. Thereby preventing the wiper blade from being damaged due to running at the time of freezing.

Alternatively, the control device can be started immediately after the wiper blade is used or when the driver unlocks the vehicle equipped with the wiper blade.

Alternatively, the control device may be part of a central controller of the vehicle or a separate control unit.

Modern motor vehicles are increasingly equipped or equipped with human-machine interface (HMI) at dashboards or consoles or the like to implement human-vehicle dialogue functions. For this purpose, the driver or the vehicle owner can perform appropriate settings via the HMI according to the actual circumstances of the area in which the vehicle is traveling, so that the method for cleaning the wiper blade according to the present invention and/or the control device for controlling the wiper blade to clean the wiper blade according to the present invention are/is turned on or off by default. For example, in an area containing a small amount of dust in the air, the method for cleaning a wiper blade according to the present invention and/or the control device for controlling a wiper blade to clean the wiper blade according to the present invention may be set to be turned off by default by the HMI. If necessary, the driver or the vehicle owner can set the method and/or the control device according to the invention to active. This allows an optimal adaptation to local environmental conditions, reduces the unnecessary frequent activation of the method and/or control device according to the invention, reduces the effort on the part of the driver or vehicle owner and improves the driving experience.

In order to solve the problems, the invention further provides a wiper blade system, which comprises a wiper blade and the control device. An intelligent wiper system is thus obtained, which is capable of automatically removing particles such as sand and/or dust from a wiper blade.

In order to solve the problems, the invention further provides a vehicle comprising the windscreen wiper system.

To solve the above problem, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform a method according to the present invention.

By utilizing the invention, dirt particles such as sand and/or dust and the like attached to the windscreen wiper can be well removed without adding additional hardware components, the driving safety is improved, the cost is reduced, and the windscreen wiper of the existing vehicle can be upgraded at low cost.

Drawings

The features, characteristics, advantages and benefits of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Wherein:

fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of a front half of a vehicle with a wiper blade and a control device according to the invention;

fig. 2 shows a system block diagram of a control device according to the invention; and

fig. 3 shows a workflow diagram of the method according to the invention.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the disclosure and may be embodied in various forms. Specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, but merely to teach one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Those skilled in the art can now make similar generalizations without departing from the scope of the invention. The same reference numbers may be used throughout the description to refer to similar or identical elements.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of a front half of a motor vehicle comprising a wiper blade 1 and a control device 2 according to the invention for controlling the wiper blade to remove particles of sand and/or dust and the like from the wiper blade, which control device is electrically and communicatively connected to the wiper blade. The wiper blade is a conventional electric wiper blade in the art, and includes, for example, a wiper blade body, a wiper blade provided on the wiper blade body, and an actuator. It is to be noted that the general description is made here only by taking an electric wiper blade as an example, and it should not be understood that the present invention is limited to such a wiper blade.

Fig. 2 shows a system block diagram of the control device 2 according to the invention. The control device 2 includes: an activation module 10 for moving the wiper blade 1 into a first position between its two end positions; a memory 20 having computer-executable instructions stored therein; a processor 30 configured to execute computer-executable instructions that, when the activation module is activated, are executed by the processor to drive an actuator of the wiper blade to move the wiper blade into a first position between its two end positions and then to reciprocate the wiper blade from the first position along the windshield surface for a short stroke; and a deactivation module 40 for returning the wiper blade to an initial position.

The activation module 10 and deactivation module 40 may be conventional push-button or rotary-button switches or the like.

The memory 20 may include, but is not limited to, a magnetic disk drive, an optical storage device, a solid-state memory, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape or any other magnetic medium, an optical disk or any other optical medium, a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (random access memory), a cache memory, and/or any other memory chip or cartridge and/or any other medium from which a computer can read data, instructions, and/or code.

The processor 30 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Application-specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an Integrated Circuit (IC), a System On Chip (SOC), a programmable logic device (plc), or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with a microprocessor.

The processor 30 of the control device 1 may read the instructions and/or data of the memory in order to cause the wiper blade to perform a short stroke reciprocating motion from said first position along the windscreen surface in a "down-up-down" sequence or in an "up-down-up" sequence. As shown in the schematic view of fig. 1, the wiper blade first swings to a position at the upper portion shown by a dotted line in fig. 1, then swings to a position at the lower portion shown by a dotted line in fig. 1, and then swings to a position shown by a solid line in fig. 1. Here, the wiper blade may be reciprocated a plurality of times along the windshield surface from the first position. The short stroke reciprocating motion is as follows: starting from the first position, swinging downward by about 2 °, then swinging upward by about 4 °, then swinging downward by about 2 ° again, and returning to the first position; or from the first position by about 2 ° upwards, then by about 4 ° downwards, and then by about 2 ° upwards again back to the first position. A general wiper blade is provided with a low-speed oscillating frequency and a high-speed oscillating frequency. The user can select according to the condition of sand and/or dust stained by the windscreen wiper so as to achieve the optimized dust removal effect. Of which 2 ° is to be understood as merely a preferred embodiment.

The control device 2 according to the invention may be part of a central control of the vehicle or may be a separate control unit. The control device 2 may also be a control unit of the wiper itself.

Fig. 3 shows a work flow diagram of a method for cleaning a wiper blade according to the present invention. In step 101, the wiper blade is moved by a user (typically the driver of the vehicle) into a first position between its two end positions. In step 102, the wiper blade is reciprocated along the windshield surface for a short stroke from the first position, wherein the wiper blade is preferably reciprocated a plurality of times, and in particular the short stroke is reciprocated: starting from the first position, swinging downward by about 2 °, then swinging upward by about 4 °, then swinging downward by about 2 ° again, and returning to the first position; or from the first position by about 2 ° upwards, then by about 4 ° downwards, and then by about 2 ° upwards again back to the first position. In step 103, the wiper blade is returned to the initial position.

In addition, the driver or the vehicle owner can make corresponding settings through the HMI according to the actual situation of the area where the vehicle travels to set the method for cleaning the wiper blade according to the present invention and/or the control device for controlling the wiper blade to clean the wiper blade according to the present invention to be turned on or off by default. For example, in regions with a low dust content in the air, the method according to the invention and/or the control device according to the invention can be set to be closed by default by the HMI. This allows an optimal adaptation to local environmental conditions, reduces the unnecessary frequent activation of the method and/or control device according to the invention, reduces the driver's effort and improves the driving experience.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions which, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method according to the invention.

Without being limited thereto, the invention may also relate to a computer program product which, when loaded and executed on a computer, causes a method according to the invention.

The features disclosed in the description and the claims of the present application can be essential for the implementation of the embodiments in terms of different designs and can be implemented both individually and in any combination.

Although some aspects are described in association with an apparatus, it should be understood that: these aspects are also a description of the corresponding method, so that a module or a component of an apparatus can also be understood as a corresponding method step or as a feature of a method step. Similarly, an aspect described in connection with or as a method step is also a description of a corresponding module or detail or feature of a corresponding apparatus.

Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may be machine-readable or computer-readable. Thus, in some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium comprises a data carrier having executable instructions that can cooperate with a programmable computer system or programmable hardware components such that one of the methods described herein is performed. An embodiment is thus a data carrier, a digital storage medium or a computer-readable storage medium, on which a program for implementing one of the methods described herein is recorded.

Embodiments of the invention may generally be implemented as a program, firmware, computer program or a computer program product with a program code or data for performing the method efficiently when the program is run on a processor or programmable hardware components or as data. The program code or data may also be stored on a machine-readable carrier or data carrier, for example. Program code or data may additionally exist as source code, machine code, or bytecode, as well as other intermediate code.

Furthermore, another embodiment is a data flow, a signal sequence, or a signal sequence, which is a program for implementing one of the methods described herein. A data stream, a signal sequence or a signal sequence may for example be arranged for transmission via a data communication connection, for example via the internet or other networks. Thus, an embodiment may also be a signal sequence representing data, which is suitable for transmission via a network or a data communication connection, wherein the data is a program.

In summary, the technical scheme of the invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the invention can well remove dirt particles such as sand and/or dust and the like attached to the windscreen wiper without adding additional hardware components, and can completely adopt the existing windscreen wiper, thereby bringing great convenience to users and improving the driving safety. Meanwhile, the production and manufacturing cost and the assembly cost of hardware can be reduced, and the windscreen wiper of the existing vehicle can be upgraded at low cost.