A wiping device for wiping an optical element clean of water or of particles includes a housing and a wiping element able to undergo a movement with respect to the housing, where the wiping device is configured to move in such a manner that such movement is caused by coupling a first unit in or on the wiping element with a second unit in the housing via a time-variable electromagnetic field. The wiping device may be used for wiping the surface of a lens or of a window, which lens or window is transmissive to visible light, ultraviolet radiation, and/or infrared radiation, and is preferably placed in front or as part of a camera. In addition, a rear view device or driver assistant device for use in or on a vehicle including such a wiping device, and a method for wiping an optical element are provided.

A system mounted on a vehicle for detecting an obstruction on a surface of a window of the vehicle, a primary camera is mounted inside the vehicle behind the window. The primary camera is configured to acquire images of the environment through the window. A secondary camera is focused on an external surface of the window, and operates to image the obstruction. A portion of the window, i.e. window region is subtended respectively by the field of view of the primary camera and the field of view of the secondary camera. A processor processes respective sequences of image data from both the primary camera and the secondary camera.

The present invention relates to a gear motor (101), in particular for a wiper system, comprising: a brushless DC electric motor (103) including: a rotor (15); a stator (13) having coils (17) for electromagnetically exciting the rotor (15); a device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15) with respect to the stator (13); a control unit (21) configured to generate control signals for supplying power to the electromagnetic excitation coils (17) according to the angular position of the rotor (15) determined by the device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15); a reduction gear mechanism (104) linked, on one side, to the rotor (15) of the electric motor (103) and, on the other side, to an output shaft (109) that is intended to be linked to an external mechanism, in particular a wiper system, the reduction gear mechanism (104) having a predefined reduction ratio, said device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15) comprises at least one Hall effect sensor (27, 27a, 27b) associated with a control magnet (29, 29a, 29b) that rotates with the rotor (15) and the gear motor (101) also comprises a processing unit (26) connected to the device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (5) and configured to determine the angular position of the output shaft (109) on the basis of the angular position of the rotor (15) determined by taking the predefined reduction ratio of the reduction gear mechanism (104) into account.

The present invention relates to a gear motor (101), in particular for a wiper system, comprising: a brushless DC electric motor (103) including: a rotor (15); a stator (13) having coils (17) for electromagnetically exciting the rotor (15); a device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15) with respect to the stator (13); a control unit (21) configured to generate control signals for supplying power to the electromagnetic excitation coils (17) according to the angular position of the rotor (15) determined by the device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15); a reduction gear mechanism (104) linked, on one side, to the rotor (15) of the electric motor (103) and, on the other side, to an output shaft (109) that is intended to be linked to an external mechanism, in particular a wiper system, the reduction gear mechanism (104) having a predefined reduction ratio, said device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (15) comprises at least one Hall effect sensor (27, 27a, 27b) associated with a control magnet (29, 29a, 29b) that rotates with the rotor (15) and the gear motor (101) also comprises a processing unit (26) connected to the device (25) for determining the angular position of the rotor (5) and configured to determine the angular position of the output shaft (109) on the basis of the angular position of the rotor (15) determined by taking the predefined reduction ratio of the reduction gear mechanism (104) into account.

A wiper device for a small and curved surface such as a spherical surface of an optical element includes at least one elongate wiper element with two ends, two drive units to which the ends of the wiper element are attached so that the wiper element can be moved on the surface of the optical element using the two drive units, and at least one contacting means for bringing the wiper element into contact with a surface of the optical element, the contacting means shapes the wiper element around at least that part of the surface which is exposed to the environment due to an opening provided by the housing and is to be cleaned.

The present invention comprises an AS-side wiper motor 40 including an AS-side output shaft 83 that is rotated in forward and backward directions and a link mechanism 60 constituted by a four-bar link. The AS-side wiper member 50 is configured to wipe in a first AS-side wipe range 11b by a pivotal movement of the AS-side output shaft 83 in a first angular range SA1, and wipe in a second AS-side wipe range 11c by a pivotal movement of the AS-side output shaft 83 in a second angular range SA2 that differs from the first angular range SA1. The wipe range of the AS-side wiper member 50 can thus be switched between the first AS-side wipe range 11b and the second AS-side wipe range 11c by controlling an angular range, in which the AS-side output shaft 83 is pivotally moved, to be in the first angular range SA1 or the second angular range SA2 that differ from each other. In addition, a size of the wipe range can be adjusted by controlling a pivot angle of the AS-side output shaft 83 in forward and backward directions.

The present invention comprises an AS-side wiper motor 40 including an AS-side output shaft 83 that is rotated in forward and backward directions and a link mechanism 60 constituted by a four-bar link. The AS-side wiper member 50 is configured to wipe in a first AS-side wipe range 11b by a pivotal movement of the AS-side output shaft 83 in a first angular range SA1, and wipe in a second AS-side wipe range 11c by a pivotal movement of the AS-side output shaft 83 in a second angular range SA2 that differs from the first angular range SA1. The wipe range of the AS-side wiper member 50 can thus be switched between the first AS-side wipe range 11b and the second AS-side wipe range 11c by controlling an angular range, in which the AS-side output shaft 83 is pivotally moved, to be in the first angular range SA1 or the second angular range SA2 that differ from each other. In addition, a size of the wipe range can be adjusted by controlling a pivot angle of the AS-side output shaft 83 in forward and backward directions.

A windshield wiper system (WWS) is provided. The WWS includes a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor, a wiper arm and blade, a gearbox/converter operably interposed between the BLDC motor and the wiper arm and blade and a smart motor drive configured to determine a WWS failure condition and to operate the BLDC motor according to the determination.

A windshield wiper system (WWS) is provided. The WWS includes a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor, a wiper arm and blade, a gearbox/converter operably interposed between the BLDC motor and the wiper arm and blade and a smart motor drive configured to determine a WWS failure condition and to operate the BLDC motor according to the determination.

An apparatus includes a camera lens assembly and a printed circuit board attached to said camera lens assembly. The camera lens assembly may be configured to provide a forward view through a windshield of a vehicle. The printed circuit board generally comprises an antenna, a ground plane, and an image sensor. The antenna is generally disposed on a front surface of the printed circuit board. The ground plane may be disposed either on the front surface or within a layer of the printed circuit board. The image sensor is generally mounted on a back surface of the printed circuit board. The camera lens assembly is generally configured to focus an image of the forward view through the windshield on the image sensor.