Vehicle Wiper Blade Monitoring Based on Accelerometer

Abstract

A method and apparatus for accelerometer-based windshield wiper monitoring is disclosed. A vehicle includes an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, a windshield wiper for actuation on the vehicle window, and a processor. The processor is configured to determine an acoustic profile corresponding to the windshield wiper based on structure-borne audio data received from the accelerometer, determine whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold, and responsively provide an alert through a vehicle display.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle component monitoring, and more particularly to accelerometer-based monitoring of wiper blades. Background Art

[0002] With the customer experience increasingly considered, vehicles are being manufactured with sensors, devices and systems that warn the driver when various parts of the vehicle require maintenance or are nearing the end of their useful life. This helps keep the vehicle up to date and well maintained by alerting the driver when a part should be replaced or when the vehicle should be serviced. Summary of the invention

[0003] The appended claims define the application. This disclosure summarizes aspects of the embodiments and should not be used to limit the claims. Other embodiments that may be conceived according to the techniques described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after studying the following drawings and detailed description, and these embodiments are intended to fall within the scope of the present application.

[0004] An example embodiment of accelerometer-based vehicle wiper blade monitoring is disclosed. A vehicle includes an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, a windshield wiper for actuation on the vehicle window, and a processor. The processor is configured to determine an acoustic profile corresponding to the windshield wiper based on structure-borne audio data received from the accelerometer, determine whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold, and responsively provide an alert through a vehicle display.

[0005] An exemplary method includes receiving, by a processor, structure-borne audio data captured by an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, wherein the audio data corresponds to noise generated when a windshield wiper is actuated on the vehicle window. The method also includes determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the received audio data. The method further includes determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold. And the method further includes responsively providing an alert via a vehicle display.

[0006] Another example includes means for receiving, by a processor, structure-borne audio data captured by an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, wherein the audio data corresponds to noise generated when a windshield wiper is actuated on the vehicle window. The example also includes means for determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the received audio data. The example further includes means for determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold. And the example further includes means for responsively providing an alert via a vehicle display.

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle, comprising:

[0008] accelerometer, an accelerometer attached to the vehicle window;

[0009] Windshield wipers, which are used to actuate on vehicle windows; and

[0010] Processor, the processor configuration is:

[0011] determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the windshield wipers based on the structure-borne audio data received from the accelerometer;

[0012] determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold; and

[0013] In response, an alert is provided via a vehicle display.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the accelerometer is configured to measure vibrations perpendicular to a glass surface of the vehicle window.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the accelerometer is attached to a top middle portion of a front windshield of the vehicle.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processor is further configured to:

[0017] comparing the determined acoustic profile to a plurality of stored acoustic profiles, wherein each stored acoustic profile has a corresponding threshold value;

[0018] determining the best matching stored acoustic profile; and

[0019] Select the threshold that corresponds to the best matching stored acoustic profile.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a first profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to an aged wiper blade, and a second profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to a damaged wiper blade arm.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present invention, each stored acoustic profile comprises a corresponding alarm type, and wherein the processor is further configured to provide an alarm based on the best matching acoustic profile.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the band-limited decibel level comprises a decibel level of the acoustic profile between 1-10 kHz.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processor is further configured to:

[0024] receiving input indicative of characteristics of a windshield wiper; and

[0025] Modify the threshold based on the input received.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the accelerometer comprises a first sensor, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0027] receiving data from a second sensor; and

[0028] An alert is provided via a vehicle display based on the data from the first sensor and the data from the second sensor.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle further comprises sending an alert to a vehicle service center.

[0030] According to the present invention, there is provided a method comprising:

[0031] receiving, by a processor, structure-borne audio data captured by an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, wherein the audio data corresponds to noise generated when a windshield wiper is actuated by an upper window;

[0032] determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the structure-borne audio data;

[0033] determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold; and

[0034] In response, an alert is provided via a vehicle display.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the accelerometer is configured to measure vibrations perpendicular to a glass surface of the vehicle window.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the vehicle window is a front windshield, and wherein the accelerometer is attached to a top middle portion of the front windshield.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

[0038] comparing the determined acoustic profile to a plurality of stored acoustic profiles, wherein each stored acoustic profile has a corresponding threshold value;

[0039] determining the best matching stored acoustic profile; and

[0040] Select the threshold that corresponds to the best matching stored acoustic profile.

[0041] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a first profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to an aged wiper blade, and a second profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to a damaged wiper blade arm.

[0042] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein each stored acoustic profile comprises a corresponding alarm type, the method further comprises providing an alarm based on the best matching acoustic profile.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the band-limited decibel level comprises a decibel level of the acoustic profile between 1-10 kHz.

[0044] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

[0045] receiving input indicative of characteristics of a windshield wiper; and

[0046] Modify the threshold based on the input received.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the accelerometer comprises a first sensor, the method further comprises:

[0048] receiving data from a second sensor; and

[0049] An alert is provided via a vehicle display based on the data from the first sensor and the data from the second sensor.

[0050] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

[0051] Sends an alert to the vehicle service center. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and related elements may be omitted, or in some cases the proportions may be exaggerated in order to highlight and clearly illustrate the new features described herein. In addition, as is known in the art, the system components may be arranged differently. In addition, in the drawings, the same reference numerals represent corresponding parts in several figures.

[0053] Figure 1 A vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0054] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of the electronic components of a vehicle;

[0055] Figure 3 shows graphs showing two example acoustic profiles according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] While the present invention may be embodied in different forms, there are some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments shown in the drawings and described below, it being understood that this disclosure is considered as an example of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments shown.

[0058] As mentioned above, many vehicles are designed and manufactured to warn the driver when one or more components, parts, or systems are approaching or exceeding their useful life. For example, an oil monitoring system checks engine operating condition and mileage to alert the driver when an oil change is required. Additionally, tire pressure sensors warn the driver when the vehicle tires are running low on pressure, battery sensors warn the driver when the battery is aging, and a variety of other sensors, systems, and devices may monitor one or more characteristics of a vehicle.

[0059] Vehicle windshield wipers are generally used to clear rain, dirt and other materials from the driver's field of view. Over time, the effectiveness of a given wiper blade can decrease, causing streaks, missed materials, and ineffective cleaning of the windshield. This can reduce visibility for the driver and increase safety issues.

[0060] Typically when wiper blades degrade over time, an audible squealing sound can be heard as the wiper blades are actuated on the windshield. This can be attributed to a defect in the blade, material stuck to or caked on the blade, or other reasons. Examples of the present disclosure utilize this audible squealing sound by capturing the noise with an accelerometer located on the windshield. The sound from the actuated wiper is captured by the accelerometer, analyzed, and an acoustic profile is determined. The acoustic profile can then be compared to one or more stored profiles, and an alert can be generated indicating that the wiper blade or wiper system should be inspected or replaced.

[0061] To achieve these and other benefits, examples disclosed herein may include placing one or more accelerometers on a vehicle's windshield. The accelerometers may be configured to detect and measure vibrations of the windshield, also known as "structure-borne" sound that propagates along the vehicle window. Accelerometers may be used to capture sound in place of traditional microphones, which can suffer from problems due to weather, dirt, sand, or other substances that affect the microphone diaphragm.

[0062] When a wiper blade is actuated on a windshield, an audible squealing sound can be detected and measured by an accelerometer. This detected noise can be used to determine the acoustic profile of the wiper blade. For example, a processor connected to the accelerometer can focus on sounds between 1-10kHz (i.e., a band-limited signal). If the band-limited acoustic profile decibel level exceeds a threshold, it can indicate that the wiper blade is too loud and the wiper blade must be checked or replaced. An alert indicating this can then be generated. In some cases, the alert can be displayed to the driver. Optionally, the alert can be sent to a vehicle service center or a cloud-based computing system to alert the service center or central computing system that the wiper blade and / or arm requires maintenance.

[0063] Figure 1 A vehicle 100 operating in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is shown. The vehicle 100 may be a standard gasoline-powered vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and / or any other type of vehicle for mobile implementation. The vehicle 100 includes components related to mobility, such as a powertrain having an engine, a transmission, a suspension, a drive shaft, and / or wheels, etc. The vehicle 100 may be non-autonomous, semi-autonomous (e.g., some conventional maneuvering functions are controlled by the vehicle 100), or autonomous (e.g., maneuvering functions are controlled by the vehicle 100 without direct driver input). In the example shown, the vehicle 100 includes an accelerometer 102 attached to a vehicle window 104, a windshield wiper 106 attached to a wiper arm 108, a processor 110, and a vehicle display 112.

[0064] The accelerometer 102 can be any type of accelerometer that (a) measures vibrations perpendicular to the glass plane of the corresponding window to which it is attached, and (b) measures a wide frequency range (e.g., the frequency range of audible sound, etc.), including uniaxial or triaxial accelerometers, micromachined or piezoelectric accelerometers, etc. The measured vibrations can be referred to as "structure-borne" audio data (as opposed to air-borne audio data). The accelerometer 102 can be rigidly mounted on the corresponding window 104 located inside the cabin of the vehicle 100. In some examples, the accelerometer 102 is mounted on the window 104 in a manner that does not obstruct the driver's field of view. For example, the accelerometer 102 can be attached to the middle portion of the windshield adjacent to the rearview mirror. The accelerometer 102 can be connected to the processor 110 by wire or wirelessly to transmit information, data, or signals including the detected vibrations.

[0065] The examples disclosed herein focus on a front windshield and front windshield wipers, however it should be understood that these concepts and descriptions may also be applied to wiper blades configured to actuate on a rear window of a vehicle.

[0066] Window 104 may be the front windshield of vehicle 100. In some examples, window 104 may be a rear window, a side window, a sunroof, or any other glass surface on which a wiper blade may operate. Window 104 may be made of laminated glass (sometimes referred to as "safety glass"), or may be made of non-laminated tempered glass. The glass of window 104 vibrates when struck by sound waves, including sound waves generated by wipers 106 actuated on the window.

[0067] Wiper 106 may be any wiper blade configured for operation on a vehicle. Figure 1 Wiper blades of different brands, models, sizes, shapes, and other forms of the type shown. The wiper 106 may include one or more portions and may be curved to match the contours of the vehicle window. In addition, the wiper 106 may be configured to actuate on the vehicle window 104 to clear rain, snow, dust, or other matter.

[0068] To actuate on the vehicle window 104, the wiper 106 can be attached to a wiper arm 108, which can be controlled by a motor. When the wiper 106 slides across the vehicle window 104, the interaction between the wiper blade and the vehicle window can emit an audible noise or squeal. One or more characteristics of the squeal can be related to the life or efficiency of the wiper blade 106, the wiper arm 108, or one or more other components of the vehicle 100. For example, actuating a brand new wiper on a vehicle window can emit an audible first squeal with a first frequency distribution. When aging, the same wiper can emit a louder squeal with the same or similar frequency distribution, or the frequency distribution can change. The difference can be determined by the processor 110 and can be used to provide an alert through the display 112.

[0069] The processor 110 may be configured to receive the structure-borne audio data from the accelerometer 102 and determine an acoustic profile for the data corresponding to windshield wipers. The acoustic profile may include different noise levels (in decibels) for the data at different frequencies. For example, a given wiper blade may cause a squealing sound having a peak noise around 2.5 kHz and components at various other frequencies when actuated. Figure 3 Describe the audio signals propagated by two example structures.

[0070] Determining an acoustic profile may include determining one or more acoustic characteristics of the received data, including frequency, decibel level, sound pressure level, magnitude or amplitude of various aspects of the signal, and / or processing the data in one or more ways, such as filtering the data.

[0071] In some examples, the processor 110 can then be configured to compare the determined acoustic profile with a plurality of stored acoustic profiles. For example, the processor can access a plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponding to different situations (e.g., a new wiper blade, an aged wiper blade, a damaged wiper arm, etc.). Each profile can correspond to a unique audio signal shape, and the processor can compare the shape of the audio signal received from the accelerometer 102 with the plurality of stored shapes to determine which stored acoustic profile best matches. Each stored acoustic profile can also have a corresponding threshold decibel level. Thereafter, the processor 110 can use the threshold corresponding to the matching acoustic profile for one or more purposes. In addition, each stored acoustic profile can have a corresponding alarm type, which can be related to the type of problem with the profile (e.g., a damaged wiper blade, a damaged arm, an aged wiper blade, etc.).

[0072] After determining the acoustic profile of the received audio data, the processor 110 can be configured to determine whether the band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold. The acoustic profile band limit can be between 1-10kHz, and the processor can be configured to determine whether any portion of the acoustic profile in this range has a decibel level greater than a given threshold.

[0073] The processor 110 can then be configured to responsively provide an alert via the vehicle display 112. The alert can indicate, for example, that the wiper blade is damaged, aged, needs to be inspected, or needs to be replaced. Other alerts are also possible. In some examples, the alert can be a visual alert on the display 112. Alternatively or in addition, the alert can include an audio or tactile component, such as a beep or buzz. In other examples, an alert can be generated and sent to a central computing system or service center. This can occur when the vehicle does not include a display (e.g., as is the case in some autonomous vehicles) or is not configured to provide an alert to the driver. In this way, an alert can be sent to a service center or other computing system to alert the responsible party.

[0074] In some examples, the content of the alert may correspond to the best matching stored acoustic profile. For example, the best matching stored acoustic profile may correspond to an aged wiper blade. The alert in this case may indicate that the wiper blade has aged. Alternatively, the best matching stored acoustic profile may correspond to a broken wiper arm. In this case, the alert may indicate that the wiper blade arm must be inspected or replaced. Other alerts are also possible.

[0075] In some examples, the processor may also be configured to receive input indicating characteristics of the windshield wipers and modify the thresholds based on the received input. In practice, this may include receiving input indicating the brand, model, manufacturer, size, material, or other characteristics of the windshield wipers through a vehicle interface (e.g., a touch screen or control panel). Then, based on this input information, the processor may adjust or modify the threshold used to determine whether the decibel level is above or below the threshold. Some types of wiper blades may be quieter or louder than other types of blades (even if brand new), and the threshold used by the processor 110 may be modified to appropriately reflect the type of wiper blade.

[0076] In some examples, vehicle 100 may include one or more other sensors, such as Figure 2 The information from these sensors can be used to confirm the data received from the accelerometer 102, and ultimately display an alert based on the data from both the accelerometer and one or more other sensors. For example, sensors such as cameras, rain sensors, or other sensors can be used to determine and confirm weather conditions, wiper blade movement, wiper arm condition, etc. In addition, one or more sensors can be configured to measure bumps and changes in the position of the vehicle window 104 and the accelerometer 102 to account for bumps in the road and movement of the vehicle (which can be inadvertently detected by the accelerometer 102). Other sensors can also be used.

[0077] Figure 2 An example block diagram 200 showing electronic components of vehicle 100 is shown, according to some embodiments. In the example shown, electronic components 200 include an onboard computing system 210, an infotainment head unit 220, sensors 230, an electronic control unit 240, and a vehicle data bus 250.

[0078] The onboard computing system 210 may include a microcontroller unit, controller or processor 110 and a memory 212. The processor 110 may be any suitable processing device or set of processing devices, such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, an integrated circuit, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The memory 212 may be a volatile memory (e.g., RAM including non-volatile RAM (random access memory), magnetic RAM, ferroelectric RAM, etc.), a non-volatile memory (e.g., disk memory, flash memory, EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), a non-volatile solid-state memory based on a memristor, etc.), an unchangeable memory (e.g., EPROM), a read-only memory, and / or a high-capacity storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, etc.). In some examples, the memory 212 includes a variety of memories, particularly volatile memories and non-volatile memories.

[0079] The memory 212 may be a computer-readable medium on which one or more sets of instructions may be embedded, such as software for operating the methods of the present disclosure. The instructions may be embodied as one or more methods or logic as described herein. For example, during execution of the instructions, the instructions may reside completely or at least partially in any one or more of the memory 212, the computer-readable medium, and / or the processor 110.

[0080] The terms "non-transitory computer-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" include a single medium or multiple media, such as centralized or distributed databases, and / or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. In addition, the terms "non-transitory computer-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" include any tangible medium that can store, encode, or carry a set of instructions that are executed by a processor or cause a system to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" is expressly defined to include any type of computer-readable storage device and / or storage disk and does not include propagating signals.

[0081] The infotainment head unit 220 may provide an interface between the vehicle 100 and a user. The infotainment head unit 220 may include one or more input and / or output devices, such as the display 112. Input devices may include, for example, control knobs, instrument panels, digital cameras for image capture and / or visual command recognition, touch screens, audio input devices (e.g., cabin microphones), buttons, or touch pads. Output devices may include instrument cluster outputs (e.g., dials, lighting devices), actuators, heads-up displays, center console displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, flat panel displays, solid-state displays, etc.), and / or speakers. In the example shown, the infotainment head unit 220 includes a display for an infotainment system (e.g., of and of of The information entertainment head unit 220 may include hardware (e.g., processor or controller, memory, storage device, etc.) and software (e.g., operating system, etc.) of the vehicle 100. In some examples, the infotainment head unit 220 may share a processor with the vehicle computing system 210. In addition, the infotainment head unit 220 may display the infotainment system on, for example, a center console display of the vehicle 100.

[0082] The sensors 230 may be disposed in and around the vehicle 100 in any suitable manner and may be configured to determine one or more characteristics of the vehicle 100. For example, the accelerometer 102 may measure structure-borne sound from a wiper blade actuated on a windshield. The gyroscope 232 may measure pitch, roll, yaw, or other changes in the vehicle 100, and the camera 234 may be configured to capture and transmit images to be processed and / or displayed by the vehicle 100. The wiper motor current sensor 236 may be configured to detect the amount of current drawn by the wiper motor. The amount of current may correspond to the mechanical force required to move the wiper blade on the windshield. Thus, an older wiper blade requires more mechanical force (and therefore more current) than a newer wiper blade. Data from the wiper motor current sensor may be used to confirm an acoustic profile, threshold, or other aspects as those described in the present disclosure. Other sensors may also be included, such as noise detection sensors, airflow sensors, and the like.

[0083] ECU 240 can monitor and control the subsystems of vehicle 100. ECU 240 can communicate and exchange information through vehicle data bus 250. In addition, ECU 240 can communicate attributes (e.g., the state of ECU 240, sensor readings, control status, errors and diagnostic codes, etc.) to other ECU 240 and / or receive requests from other ECU 240. Some vehicles 100 may have seventy or more ECU 240 located in various locations around vehicle 100, which are communicatively connected through vehicle data bus 250. ECU 240 can be a collection of discrete electronic components including their own circuits (e.g., integrated circuits, microprocessors, memory, storage devices, etc.) and firmware, sensors, actuators and / or mounting hardware. In the example shown, ECU 240 can include telematics control unit 242, body control unit 244 and speed control unit 246.

[0084] The telematics control unit 242 can control the tracking of the vehicle 100, for example, using data received by a GPS receiver, a communication module, and / or one or more sensors. The body control unit 244 can control various subsystems of the vehicle 100. For example, the body control unit 244 can control a powered trunk latch, windows, powered locks, a powered sunroof controller, an anti-theft system, and / or powered mirrors, etc. The speed control unit 246 can control the speed of the vehicle 100 by controlling the brakes, the transmission, and / or one or more other systems or devices. Other ECUs are also possible.

[0085] The vehicle data bus 250 may include one or more data buses that communicatively connect the onboard computing system 210, the infotainment head unit 220, the sensor 230, the ECU 240, and other devices or systems connected to the vehicle data bus 250. In some examples, the vehicle data bus 250 may be implemented according to the controller area network (CAN) bus protocol defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 11898-1. Alternatively, in some examples, the vehicle data bus 250 may be a medium-oriented system transport (MOST) bus or a CAN-flexible data (CAN-FD) bus (ISO 11898-7).

[0086] Figure 3 Graph 300 is shown showing two example waveforms of data captured by an accelerometer, such as accelerometer 102. Graph 300 shows frequency (in kHz) on the X-axis and decibel level on the Y-axis. Waveforms 302 and 304 may be Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) of signals received from the accelerometer.

[0087] Waveform 302 may correspond to a worn wiper blade, while waveform 304 corresponds to a new wiper blade. As can be seen, the noise (decibel level) of the worn blade waveform 302 is measurably higher than the new blade waveform 304. Furthermore, the difference is particularly pronounced between 1-10 kHz. In some examples, the signal received from the accelerometer may be compared to a baseline signal, and the difference between the signals at a particular frequency may be compared to a threshold. In other examples, the signal received from the accelerometer may be compared to its own threshold, and an alert may be displayed if a particular frequency or frequency range is greater than the threshold. Thus, the threshold may be a threshold difference between a reference signal and a measured signal between a stored acoustic profile and a determined acoustic profile. Alternatively, the threshold may be a true value that is independent of the reference signal. Other comparisons and thresholds may also be used.

[0088] Figure 4 An example method 400 is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400 enables a vehicle to monitor the health of windshield wipers by using an accelerometer attached to the vehicle window. Figure 4 The flowcharts of the embodiment of the present invention represent machine readable instructions that are stored in a memory and may include one or more programs that, when executed by a processor, may cause the vehicle 100 and / or one or more systems or devices described herein to perform one or more functions described herein. Figure 4 The flowchart shown in describes an example procedure, but many other methods of performing the functions described herein may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be rearranged or the blocks may be executed in series or in parallel with each other, and the blocks may be changed, eliminated, and / or combined to perform the method 400. In addition, due to the combination of Figure 1-3 The components of method 400 are disclosed, and therefore some functions of these components are not described in detail below.

[0089] Method 400 may begin at box 402. At box 404, method 400 may include determining whether input has been received from a user regarding wiper blade characteristics. As described above, a variety of different manufacturers, sizes, and other characteristics of wiper blades may be used, and this may affect the acoustic profile and / or other aspects of the present disclosure. If input is received, then at box 406, the processor may modify a threshold or stored profile based on the input. For example, a vehicle may have multiple stored profiles, each corresponding to a specific wiper blade. If the user enters a type of wiper blade, the processor may use a threshold corresponding to the profile for the input blade type.

[0090] At box 408, method 400 may include activating the accelerometer. This may include turning on the accelerometer, or otherwise performing one or more actions that allow the accelerometer to operate. At box 410, method 400 may include activating the wipers. This may be done manually by the driver, or may be done automatically based on one or more vehicle sensors detecting rain or water on the windshield.

[0091] At block 412, method 400 may include collecting data from an accelerometer and / or one or more other sensors. At block 414, method 400 may include determining an acoustic profile based on the collected data. Determining the acoustic profile may include performing signal processing on the data, and / or filtering the data around a particular frequency or frequency range.

[0092] At block 418, method 400 may include determining whether the determined acoustic profile matches or closely matches a stored acoustic profile. As described above, vehicle 100 may store multiple acoustic profiles that may correspond to specific wiper blades or situations, such as a damaged wiper blade or a damaged wiper blade arm. If there is a matching or similar stored profile, method 400 may include modifying the threshold based on the matching stored acoustic profile. This may include raising or lowering the threshold, or maintaining the same threshold level.

[0093] At block 422, method 400 may include determining whether the band-limited decibel level of the determined acoustic profile exceeds a threshold. This may include determining whether a particular frequency exceeds a threshold level, whether a range of frequencies exceeds a threshold, whether an average level of a range of frequencies exceeds a threshold, or some other calculation. If the band-limited decibel level does not exceed the threshold, method 400 may end at block 426. However, if the decibel level does exceed the threshold, it may indicate that the wiper blades are aged, damaged, or otherwise in need of inspection or replacement.

[0094] Block 424 of method 400 may include providing an alert via a vehicle display. In some examples, the alert may be based on a matching stored acoustic profile. For example, where the matching stored profile corresponds to an aged wiper blade, the alert may indicate that the wiper blade has aged. But where the matching stored profile corresponds to a damaged wiper blade arm, the alert may indicate that the wiper blade arm is damaged and must be replaced. Method 400 may then end at block 426.

[0095] In the present application, the use of antonymous conjunctions is intended to include conjunctions. The use of definite or indefinite articles is not intended to indicate cardinality. Specifically, the reference to "the" object or "a / an" object is also intended to indicate one of a plurality of such objects that are feasible. In addition, the conjunction "or" can be used to express features that exist simultaneously rather than mutually exclusive optional features. In other words, the conjunction "or" should be understood to include "and / or". As used herein, the terms "module" and "unit" refer to hardware having a circuit that is usually combined with a sensor to provide communication, control and / or monitoring capabilities. "Module" and "unit" can also include firmware executed on the circuit. The terms "includes", "including" and "include" are inclusive and have the same scope as "comprises", "comprising" and "comprise" respectively.

[0096] The above embodiments, especially any "preferred" embodiments, are possible examples of implementations and are presented merely for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many changes and modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the technology described herein. All modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: an accelerometer attached to the vehicle window; a windshield wiper for actuating on said vehicle window; as well as A processor, wherein the processor is configured as: determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the windshield wiper based on structure-borne audio data received from the accelerometer; determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold; as well as In response, an alert is provided via a vehicle display.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is attached to a top middle portion of a front windshield of the vehicle and is configured to measure vibrations perpendicular to a glass surface of the window.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: comparing the determined acoustic profile to a plurality of stored acoustic profiles, wherein each of the stored acoustic profiles has a corresponding threshold value; determining the best matching stored acoustic profile; and Select the threshold corresponding to the best matching stored acoustic profile.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein a first profile in the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to an aged wiper blade, and wherein a second profile in the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to a damaged wiper blade arm.

5. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein each of the stored acoustic profiles includes a corresponding alert type, and wherein the processor is further configured to provide an alert based on the best matching acoustic profile.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: receiving input indicative of characteristics of the windshield wiper; and The threshold is modified based on the input received.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the accelerometer comprises a first sensor, and wherein the processor is further configured to: receiving data from a second sensor; and The alert is provided via the vehicle display based on data from the first sensor and data from the second sensor.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising sending the alert to a vehicle service center.

9. A method for a vehicle, comprising: receiving, by a processor, structure-borne audio data captured by an accelerometer attached to a vehicle window, wherein the audio data corresponds to noise generated when a windshield wiper is actuated on the vehicle window; determining an acoustic profile corresponding to the structure-borne audio data; determining whether a band-limited decibel level of the acoustic profile exceeds a threshold; as well as In response, an alert is provided via a vehicle display.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle window is a windshield, and wherein the accelerometer is attached to a top middle portion of the windshield and is configured to measure vibrations perpendicular to a glass surface of the vehicle window.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: comparing the determined acoustic profile to a plurality of stored acoustic profiles, wherein each of the stored acoustic profiles has a corresponding threshold value; determining the best matching stored acoustic profile; as well as Select the threshold corresponding to the best matching stored acoustic profile.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a first profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to an aged wiper blade, and wherein a second profile of the plurality of stored acoustic profiles corresponds to a damaged wiper blade arm.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the stored acoustic profiles includes a corresponding alert type, the method further comprising providing the alert based on the best matching acoustic profile.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: receiving input indicative of characteristics of said windshield wiper; as well as The threshold is modified based on the input received.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the accelerometer comprises a first sensor, the method further comprising: receiving data from a second sensor; as well as The alert is provided via the vehicle display based on data from the first sensor and data from the second sensor.

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