Importance

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Abstract

An automatic windshield wiper control system detects and monitors impacts on a vehicle's surface due to water drops in order to automatically and appropriately control the speed of the windshield wipers. Preferably, the automatic control system is activated when the manual windshield wiper control is switched to the intermittent setting. An operator can still manually select the slow and fast continuous speed settings of the windshield wipers. An acoustic sensor is mounted behind an exterior surface of the vehicle, preferably the outer casing of a side rear-view mirror. The acoustic sensor detects noises due to impacts on the surface and generates an electrical signal representing the impact noises. The electrical signal from the acoustic sensor is filtered, thereby electronically isolating the frequency components due to the impacts of water drops and creating a filtered signal. A voltage signal is then formed representative of the frequency of the impacts of water drops on the surface. When the automatic control system is activated, the speed of the windshield wipers is controlled based on the level of the voltage signal. The voltage signal is compared to first and second threshold values. If the voltage signal rises above the first threshold value, a single sweep function of the windshield wipers is automatically activated. When the voltage signal rises above the second threshold value, a continuous fast sweep function of the windshield wipers is automatically activated.

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First Claim