A rain and temperature sensing module including a housing having a cover plate formed of a transparent material, a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a light emitter, a light receiver, and a temperature sensing element disposed thereon, a transparent compound disposed within the housing and covering the light emitter, the light receiver, and the temperature sensing element, the transparent compound filling a space between the printed circuit board and the cover plate, wherein the transparent compound has a refractive index that is substantially equal to a refractive index of the cover plate, and wherein the transparent compound provides a thermally conductive medium between the cover plate and the temperature sensing element.

A vehicle and/or a method for detecting contaminants on an optical surface are provided. The vehicle includes at least one light source adjacent the optical surface and at least one light detector at an edge of the optical surface. A controller is configured to introduce light from at least one light source into the optical surface, and to measure light at the edge of the optical surface with at least one detector. The controller compares the measured light to a threshold, and, if the measured light crosses the threshold, triggers or implements a response action.

A method (400) for identifying precipitation (50) includes the steps of: providing (410) a lighting unit (10) having a first photosensor (32), a second photosensor (34), and a controller (22), where the first and second photosensors are vertically spaced by a first distance; receiving (430), by the first photosensor, a first light signal from the precipitation at a first time point (T1); receiving (440) by the second photosensor, a second light signal from the precipitation at a second time point (T2); calculating (450) the amount of time between the first light signal and the second light signal; and calculating (460), based on the first distance and the calculated amount of time between the first light signal and the second light signal, a velocity of the precipitation.

In a rainfall amount measurement apparatus, raindrop amount information corresponding to an attachment amount of raindrops attached to an outer wall surface of a windshield of the vehicle in a measurement period is acquired based on an output of a detector configured to generate an output corresponding to the attachment amount of raindrops. The raindrop amount information is used to set a wiping interval in a wiper wiping the raindrops attached to the outer wall surface. The measurement value of a rainfall amount per unit time is calculated based on the raindrop amount information, and outputted to an outside of the vehicle.

A vehicle and/or a method for detecting contaminants on an optical surface are provided. The vehicle includes at least one light source adjacent the optical surface and at least one light detector at an edge of the optical surface. A controller is configured to introduce light from at least one light source into the optical surface, and to measure light at the edge of the optical surface with at least one detector. The controller compares the measured light to a threshold, and, if the measured light crosses the threshold, triggers or implements a response action.

A sensor apparatus for coupling to a pane of glass, in particular to the windscreen of a motor vehicle, having at least one coupling layer for the optical coupling of the sensor apparatus with the windscreen. The coupling layer is constructed with multiple layers, at least two layers of the coupling layer consist of coupling materials that are different from each other, and the layer provided for placement on the pane of glass has a weaker capacity for adhesion to the glass than at least one further layer of the coupling layer.

A rain sensor including: a received light amount determination unit configured to output a detection result different in when a raindrop is adherent to a windshield glass of a vehicle and when no raindrop is adherent thereto; a temperature/humidity sensor configured to detect temperature and humidity in a vehicle cabin of the vehicle; a contactless temperature sensor configured to contactlessly detect temperature of the windshield glass; a fogging detection unit configured to detect that fogging has occurred or is likely to occur on a vehicle cabin inner side of the windshield glass on a basis of detection signals of the temperature/humidity sensor and the contactless temperature sensor; and a raindrop determination unit configured to determine whether or not a raindrop is adherent to the windshield glass on a basis of a detection result of the received light amount determination unit and a detection result of the fogging detection unit.

An optical rain sensor device includes a first light emitting element adapted to emit a first light pulse toward an inner surface of a transparent substrate, a second light emitting element adapted to emit a second light pulse toward the inner surface of the transparent substrate, a photodetector adapted to detect a light from the first light pulse and the second light pulse that is reflected by the inner surface of the transparent substrate, and a rain sensor controller. The rain sensor controller includes a regulated current source adapted to apply a compensation current signal at a terminal of the second light emitting element based on a regulation signal, so that a total current across the second light emitting element is increased or decreased to reduce an imbalance between the first light pulse and the second light pulse.

A vehicle wiper device is provided including a first motor that swings a wiper arm such that a wiper blade coupled to a leading end portion of the wiper arm wipes a windshield, a second motor that extends or retracts an extension and retraction mechanism provided to the wiper arm in order to change a wiping range of the wiper blade, and a controller that controls rotation of the first motor such that the first motor rotates at a rotation speed corresponding to a wiping speed, and that controls rotation of the second motor so as to extend or retract the extension and retraction mechanism by an extension or retraction amount corresponding to the wiping speed during a wiping operation.

An object detection system may include an object detecting device. The object detecting device may generate an object signal based on detecting an object. The object detection system may include a controller for operating a motor. The motor may be connected to a wiper element. The controller may generate a position signal based on a position of the motor. The object detection system may include an object detection module in communication with the object detecting device. The object detection module may receive the object signal and/or the position signal. The object detection system may be configured to selectively control the motor in response to detecting the object.