IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,889,267
Granted Patent B2
US 10,889,267 · App. 16/291,186 · Granted Jan 12, 2021

Electromagnetic windshield wiper system

Inventors: Nicolas Clift (Boulder Creek, CA); Maithreya Kedambadi Prasanna (Sunnyvale, CA); Gonzalo Espinoza Graham (Waterloo, CA)
Assignee: Tesla, Inc.
B60S1/0807B60S1/0818B60S1/16B60S1/44H02K11/33B60R16/0231B60S1/0402B60S1/06B60S1/3411B60S1/3418B60S1/3463
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,889,267
App. No.
16/291,186
Granted
Jan 12, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electromagnetic wiper system for a windshield of a vehicle includes a linear actuator, a wiper-arrangement, and control circuitry. The linear actuator includes at least one guide rail having permanent magnets and an electromagnetic moving block. The electromagnetic moving block includes at least one perforation that surrounds the at least one guide rail and at least one electromagnetic coil that surrounds the at least one perforation. The wiper-arrangement includes a wiper arm and a wiper blade, wherein at least the wiper arm is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block. The control circuitry controls a linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block along the at least one guide rail to steer the wiper arm that is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block back and forth across a length of the windshield to the windshield, wherein the electromagnetic moving block induces minimal friction during the linear motion.

Claims (32)

1. An electromagnetic wiper system for a windshield of a vehicle, comprising:

a linear actuator that includes a guide rail and an electromagnetic moving block, wherein the guide rail includes a plurality of permanent magnet bars disposed horizontally along a curvature of the windshield of the vehicle, and wherein the electromagnetic moving block includes a plurality of perforations and at least an electromagnetic coil that surrounds the plurality of perforations in the electromagnetic moving block;

a wiper-arrangement including a wiper arm and a wiper blade, wherein at least the wiper arm is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block; and

a control circuitry that controls a linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block through the plurality of permanent magnet bars to steer the wiper arm that is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block, back and forth across a length of the windshield to wipe a defined region of the windshield, wherein the plurality of permanent magnet bars passes through the plurality of perforations surrounded by the electromagnetic coil in the electromagnetic moving block to induce a minimal friction that is less than a defined threshold friction value during the linear motion.

2. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the wiper blade is attached to the wiper arm along a length of the wiper arm such that the wiper blade is in contact to the windshield to wipe the defined region of the windshield across the length of the windshield based on the linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block.

3. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , further comprising a rotational actuator coupled to the electromagnetic moving block of the linear actuator, wherein the control circuitry is configured to stow, using the rotational actuator, the wiper-arrangement beneath a hood of the vehicle by adjusting an inclination angle of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis.

4. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust an angle of attack of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion.

5. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 4 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust the angle of attack of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion based upon a detected weather condition.

6. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust an angle of inclination of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion.

7. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to communicatively couple to at least one other control unit of the vehicle via an in-vehicle network.

8. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 7 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

communicatively couple to at least one other control unit of the vehicle via an in-vehicle network;

receive detected weather condition from another control unit; and

operate the electromagnetic wiper system based upon the detected weather condition.

9. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of permanent magnet bars are curved to substantially match the curvature of the windshield of the vehicle.

10. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the electromagnetic wiper system to first wipe a driver-sensitive region of the windshield.

11. An electromagnetic wiper system for a windshield of a vehicle, comprising:

a linear actuator that includes at least one guide rail and an electromagnetic moving block, wherein the at least one guide rail includes a plurality of permanent magnet bars disposed horizontally along a curvature of the windshield of the vehicle, and wherein the electromagnetic moving block includes at least one perforation that surrounds the at least one guide rail and at least one electromagnetic coil that surrounds the at least one perforation;

a wiper-arrangement including a wiper arm and a wiper blade, wherein at least the wiper arm is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block; and

a control circuitry that controls a linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block along the at least one guide rail to steer the wiper arm that is coupled to the electromagnetic moving block back and forth across a length of the windshield to the windshield, wherein the electromagnetic moving block induces a minimal friction that is less than a defined threshold friction value during the linear motion.

12. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the wiper blade is attached to the wiper arm along a length of the wiper arm such that the wiper blade is in contact to the windshield to wipe a defined region of the windshield across the length of the windshield based on the linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block.

13. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , further comprising a rotational actuator coupled to the electromagnetic moving block of the linear actuator, wherein the control circuitry is configured to stow, using the rotational actuator, the wiper-arrangement beneath a hood of the vehicle by adjusting an inclination angle of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis.

14. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust an angle of attack of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion.

15. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 14 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust the angle of attack of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion based upon a detected weather condition.

16. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to adjust an angle of inclination of the wiper arm with respect to a reference axis during the linear motion.

17. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to communicatively couple to at least one other control unit of the vehicle via an in-vehicle network.

18. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 17 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

communicatively couple to at least one other control unit of the vehicle via an in-vehicle network;

receive detected weather condition from another control unit; and

operate the electromagnetic wiper system based upon the detected weather condition.

19. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of permanent magnet bars are curved to substantially match the curvature of the windshield of the vehicle.

20. The electromagnetic wiper system according to claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the electromagnetic wiper system to first wipe a driver-sensitive region of the windshield.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 6, 2019
From: CLIFT, NICOLAS; PRASANNA, MAITHREYA KEDAMBADI; GRAHAM, GONZALO ESPINOZA
To: TESLA, INC.
Reel/Frame 048514/0287 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62638516 · Mar 5, 2018
Related Publication 20190270431A1 · Sep 5, 2019