Wiping apparatus

Abstract

To provide a wiping apparatus capable of suppressing overrun of a wiper blade.SOLUTION: A wiping apparatus includes a pair of wiper blades that reciprocate between a lower reversal position and an upper reversal position on a surface to be wiped, a pair of motors that respectively drive the pair of wiper blades, and a control unit that controls the pair of motors. The control unit estimates, as a load estimation amount, a load of one motor that drives one wiper blade which moves ahead of a start of operation in the pair of wiper blades, and corrects the upper reversal position in a direction closer to the lower reversal position on the basis of the load estimation amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiping device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a wiper device that can improve the wiping performance of the wiper and suppress a decrease in the durability of the rotor shaft and worm wheel. This wiper device transmits torque from an electric motor to the wiper via a torque transmission mechanism, causing the wiper to reciprocate and wipe the surface of an object, and includes a controller that switches between low torque control, which outputs low torque from the electric motor to cause the wiper to reciprocate, and high torque control, which outputs high torque from the electric motor to cause the wiper to reciprocate, when causing the wiper to reciprocate multiple times. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-27859 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, if water droplets from a vehicle traveling ahead land on the wiping surface, or if the washer is activated on a sunny day, the friction coefficient of the wiping surface suddenly drops. In this case, the load on the wiper device suddenly changes from high to low. Therefore, if the wiper (wiper blade) is reciprocating under high torque control, there is a risk that the wiper blade will overrun at the reversing position and interfere with the pillar.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a wiping device that can suppress overrun of the wiper blade. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, as a first solution relating to a wiping device, a wiping device including a pair of wiper blades that reciprocate on a surface to be wiped between a lower reversal position and an upper reversal position, a pair of motors that drive each of the pair of wiper blades, and a control unit that controls the pair of motors, wherein the control unit estimates, as a load estimated quantity, the load on one of the motors that drives one of the pair of wiper blades that moves first at the start of operation, and corrects the upper reversal position in a direction closer to the lower reversal position based on the load estimated quantity.

[0007] The present invention employs, as a second solution relating to the wiping device, a solution in which, in the first solution described above, the control units are provided in pairs corresponding to the pair of motors, and control information is shared between them.

[0008] In the present invention, as a third solution related to the wiping device, in the first or second solution, the control unit corrects the upper reversal position when the load estimated amount is greater than a predetermined load threshold value.

[0009] The present invention employs, as a fourth solution relating to the wiping device, a solution in which, in any one of the first to third solution, one of the wiper blades is provided on the driver's seat side of the vehicle.

[0010] In the present invention, as a fifth solution related to the wiping device, in any of the first to third solutions above, the control unit adopts a means for correcting the upper reversal position when the wiper blade performs an opposing wiping operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wiping device that can suppress overrun of a wiper blade. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a wiping device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 4 is a first flowchart showing the operation of the wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 6 is a second flowchart showing the operation of the wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10 is a third flowchart showing the operation of the wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1, the wiping device A according to this embodiment includes a pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p, a pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p, and a drive control device 3. As shown in the figure, the drive control device 3 also includes a pair of motors 4d, 4p, and a pair of wiper drive control units 5d, 5p.

[0014] In FIG. 1, the letter "d" indicates a member or part related to the driver's seat side of the vehicle. The letter "p" indicates a member or part related to the passenger's seat side of the vehicle. In FIG. 1, the letter Rd indicates the wiping range of the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d (driver's seat wiping range). The letter Rp indicates the wiping range of the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p (passenger seat wiping range).

[0015] Such a wiping device A is mounted on various types of mobile vehicles, such as gasoline-powered vehicles, hybrid vehicles, or electric vehicles, and wipes away rainwater adhering to the surface of a member to be wiped (wiped surface W), such as a windshield or rear window. That is, this wiping device A is provided with a pair of motors 4d, 4p and a pair of wiper drive controllers 5d, 5p corresponding to the pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p. The pair of wiper drive controllers 5d, 5p correspond to the controller in this invention.

[0016] Furthermore, as shown in the figure, this wiping device A uses an opposing wiping method (opposite method) in which a pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reciprocate opposite to each other, but by controlling switching between the opposite method and a parallel wiping method (tandem method) in which the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reciprocate in parallel, the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p may be reciprocated in the opposing wiping method (opposite method) or the parallel wiping method (tandem method).

[0017] In the opposing wiping system, when the wiper arm 2d on the driver's side moves upward, the other wiper arm 2p on the passenger's side also moves upward, similarly to the driver's side wiper arm 2d. When the driver's side wiper arm 2d moves downward, the passenger side wiper arm 2p also moves downward.

[0018] The driver's seat wiping range Rd is the range of the movement locus of the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d from the driver's seat side lower reversal position PLd to the driver's seat side upper reversal position PUd. The driver's seat side lower reversal position PLd is the position where the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d reverses from a downward motion to an upward motion. The driver's seat side upper reversal position PUd is the position where the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d reverses from an upward motion to a downward motion.

[0019] The passenger side wiping range Rp is the range of the movement locus of the passenger side wiper blade 1p from the passenger side lower reversal position PLp to the passenger side upper reversal position PUp. The passenger side lower reversal position PLp is the position where the passenger side wiper blade 1p reverses from a downward motion to an upward motion. The passenger side upper reversal position PUp is the position where the passenger side wiper blade 1p reverses from a downward motion to an upward motion.

[0020] Here, the standby positions of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p are the lower reversal positions PLd, PLp as shown in the figure. At this standby position, i.e., the lower reversal positions PLd, PLp, the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d is positioned above the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p. Therefore, when starting operation, the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d starts moving ahead of the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p.

[0021] In Fig. 1, the symbols PUd1 and PUp1 indicate the corrective turning positions of the pair of wiper blades 1d and 1p. That is, the symbol PUd1 is the corrective turning position of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side, while the symbol PUp1 is the corrective turning position of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger's seat side.

[0022] As shown in the figure, the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p are rod-shaped members placed on the surface to be wiped W. The pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p abut against the surface to be wiped W and wipe away rainwater present on the surface to be wiped by reciprocating over the surface to be wiped W between lower reversal positions PLd, PLp and upper reversal positions PUd, Pup. The pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p are mechanically connected to a pair of motors 4d, 4p via a pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p.

[0023] That is, the driver's side wiper blade 1d is connected to the driver's side motor 4d via the wiper arm 2d provided on the driver's side, and the passenger's side wiper blade 1p is connected to the passenger's side motor 4p via the wiper arm 2p and link mechanism 3 provided on the passenger's side.

[0024] As shown in the figure, the pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p are rod-shaped members, one end of which is connected to the middle of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p, and the other end of which is connected to the pair of wiper shafts Td, Tp. That is, the wiper arm 2d on the driver's seat side has one end connected to the middle of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side, and the other end connected to the wiper shaft Td on the driver's seat side.

[0025] On the other hand, one end of the passenger-side wiper arm 2p is connected to a midpoint of the passenger-side wiper blade 1p, and the other end is connected to the passenger-side wiper shaft Tp. The pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p are members included in the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p. Such a pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p functions as a power transmission component that individually transmits the rotational power of the pair of motors 4d, 4p to the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p.

[0026] That is, the driver's side wiper arm 2d transmits the rotational power of the driver's side motor 4d to the driver's side wiper blade 1d. The passenger's side wiper arm 2p transmits the rotational power of the passenger's side motor 4p to the passenger's side wiper blade 1p. The pair of wiper arms 2d, 2p also function as biasing members that press the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p against the wiped surface W with a predetermined pressing force.

[0027] Of the pair of motors 4d, 4p, the driver's seat side motor 4d is the driver's seat side power source that reciprocates the corresponding driver's seat side wiper blade 4d. This motor 4d includes a motor main body 6d and a speed reduction mechanism 7d. The passenger's seat side motor 4p is the passenger's seat side power source that reciprocates the corresponding passenger's seat side wiper blade 4p. This motor 4p includes a motor main body 6p and a speed reduction mechanism 7p.

[0028] Furthermore, of the pair of wiper drive control units 5d, 5p, the first wiper drive control unit 5d is equipped with an angle detection circuit 8d, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 9d, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10d, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11d, a communication circuit 12d and a drive circuit 13d, and controls the drive of the motor 4d on the driver's seat side.

[0029] On the other hand, the second wiper drive control unit 5p includes an angle detection circuit 8p, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 9p, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10p, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11p, a communication circuit 12p, and a drive circuit 13p, and controls the drive of the passenger side motor 4p.

[0030] Of the pair of wiper drive controllers 5d and 5p, the first wiper drive controller 5d is a drive controller corresponding to the wiper blade 4d on the driver's seat side, while the second wiper drive controller 5p is a drive controller corresponding to the wiper blade 4p on the passenger's seat side.

[0031] The first wiper drive controller 5d drives and controls the driver's seat side motor 4d to cause the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d to reciprocate (oscillate) around the wiper axis Td, and the second wiper drive controller 5p drives and controls the passenger's seat side motor 4p to cause the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p to reciprocate (oscillate) around the wiper axis Tp.

[0032] In the first wiper drive control unit 5d, the driver's seat side angle detection circuit 8d outputs an angle signal proportional to the rotation angle of the driver's seat side motor 4d to the driver's seat side CPU 11d. This angle signal indicates the operating angle of the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d and is composed of the relative position signal and absolute position signal described in the first embodiment.

[0033] The relative position signal is a pulse signal (motor pulse) generated in accordance with the rotation of the driver's seat side motor 4d, and is a pulse signal (pulse train) with a number of pulses proportional to the rotation angle of the driver's seat side motor 4d. In contrast, the absolute position signal is a single pulse signal generated when the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reaches a control reference position. The control reference position is, for example, the bottom reversal positions PLd, PLp.

[0034] The ROM 9d on the driver's seat side is a non-volatile memory. This ROM 9d stores a control program for the CPU 11d to perform feedback control of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side. This ROM 9d also stores an operation map that the CPU 11d on the driver's seat side refers to when executing the control program.

[0035] The operation map indicates the target speed of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side in the driver's seat wiping range Rd. The RAM 10d on the driver's seat side is a volatile memory. This RAM 10d temporarily stores various data generated when the CPU 11d executes the control program.

[0036] The CPU 11d on the driver's seat side generates a drive command by executing a control program stored in advance in the ROM 9d on the driver's seat side, and outputs the drive command to the drive circuit 13d on the driver's seat side. When executing the control program, the CPU 11d refers to the switch signal input from the upper control device, the angle signal input from the angle detection circuit 8d, the control information input from the communication circuit 12d on the driver's seat side, and the operation map stored in advance in the ROM 9d.

[0037] That is, the CPU 11d generates a drive command by referring to the switch signal, the angle signal, the control information, and the operation map based on the control program. The drive command is a control command that instructs the driver's seat drive circuit 13d to drive the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d and takes into account the drive control state of the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p in the second wiper drive control unit 5p.

[0038] The drive command is, for example, a PWM signal, and controls the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side so that the moving speed of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side obtained from the angle signal becomes equal to the target speed in the operation map and synchronizes with the movement of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger's seat side.

[0039] The switch signal is a higher-level control command that instructs the wiping device A to turn on / off (Lo operation, Hi operation, etc.) the wiper switch provided in the vehicle, specify heavy rain mode, turn on / off the mist switch, intermittent operation (Lo, Hi, INT operation), etc. The drive command is, for example, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal, and is a control command that operates the driver's seat side CPU 11d and the passenger seat side CPU 11p based on the duty ratio, which is attribute information, that is, the ratio between the Hi (high) period and the Lo (low) period in the step signal.

[0040] The CPU 12d controls the driver's side wiper blade 1d and estimates the load on the driver's side motor 4d corresponding to the driver's side wiper blade 1d based on the angle signal input from the angle detection circuit 8d. The CPU 12d performs correction processing on the upper reversal position PUd of the driver's side wiper blade 1d based on the load estimation result of the driver's side motor 4d. The CPU 12d also provides the load estimation result of the driver's side motor 4d to the passenger's side CPU 11p as control information via the driver's side communication circuit 12d.

[0041] The driver's seat side communication circuit 12d transmits and receives control information to and from the second wiper drive control unit 5p. The driver's seat side communication circuit 12d receives, as the control information, for example, the current position of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger's seat side from the communication circuit 12p of the second wiper drive control unit 5p. The driver's seat side communication circuit 12d also transmits, as the control information, for example, the current position of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side to the communication circuit 12p of the second wiper drive control unit 5p.

[0042] The driver's seat side drive circuit 13d is a three-phase inverter circuit equipped with a plurality of switching transistors, and generates a U-phase drive signal, a V-phase drive signal, and a W-phase drive signal by operating the U-phase switching leg, the V-phase switching leg, and the W-phase switching leg in a time-series manner based on the first to sixth PWM signals input from the driver's seat side CPU 11d.

[0043] Driver-side drive circuit 13d outputs a U-phase drive signal from its U-phase output terminal to a first input terminal of driver-side motor 4d, a V-phase drive signal from its V-phase output terminal to a second input terminal of driver-side motor 4d, and a W-phase drive signal from its W-phase output terminal to a third input terminal of driver-side motor 4d.

[0044] Meanwhile, in the second wiper drive control unit 5p, the passenger-side angle detection circuit 8p outputs an angle signal proportional to the rotation angle of the passenger-side motor 4p to the passenger-side CPU 11p. This angle signal indicates the operating angle of the passenger-side wiper blade 1p and is composed of a relative position signal and an absolute position signal.

[0045] The relative position signal is a pulse signal (motor pulse) generated in accordance with the rotation of the passenger-side motor 4p, and is a pulse signal (pulse train) with a number of pulses proportional to the rotation angle of the passenger-side motor 4p. In contrast, the absolute position signal is a single pulse signal generated when the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reaches a control reference position. The control reference position is, for example, the bottom reversal positions PLd, PLp.

[0046] The ROM 9p on the passenger side is a non-volatile memory. This ROM 9p stores a control program for the CPU 11p on the passenger side to perform feedback control of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger side. This ROM 9p also stores an operation map required for the CPU 11p on the passenger side to execute the control program.

[0047] The operation map indicates the target speed of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger's side in the passenger's side wiping range Rp. The control program stored in this ROM 9p is substantially the same as the control program stored in the ROM 9d of the first wiper drive control unit 5d. The RAM 10p on the passenger's side is a volatile memory. This RAM 10p temporarily stores various data generated when the CPU 11p on the passenger's side executes the control program.

[0048] The passenger-side CPU 11p generates a drive command by executing a control program stored in advance in the passenger-side ROM 9p, and outputs the drive command to the passenger-side drive circuit 13p. When executing the control program, the CPU 11p refers to the switch signal input from the higher-level control device, the angle signal input from the angle detection circuit 8p, the control information input from the communication circuit 12p, and the operation map stored in advance in the ROM 9p.

[0049] That is, the CPU 11p generates a drive command by referring to the switch signal, the angle signal, the control information, and the operation map based on the control program. The drive command is a control command that instructs the passenger side drive circuit 13p to drive the passenger side wiper blade 1p and takes into account the drive control state of the driver side wiper blade 1d in the first wiper drive control unit 5d.

[0050] The drive command controls the passenger side wiper blade 1p so that the movement speed of the passenger side wiper blade 1p obtained from the angle signal becomes equal to the target speed in the operation map and synchronizes with the movement of the driver side wiper blade 1d. This drive command is a PWM signal, just like the driver side drive command.

[0051] Here, the passenger-side CPU 11p controls the passenger-side wiper blade 1p, and performs correction processing on the upper reversal position PUp of the passenger-side wiper blade 1p based on the load estimation result of the driver-side motor 4d provided by the CPU 12d. That is, the CPU 11p corrects the upper reversal position PUp of the passenger-side wiper blade 1p based on the load state of the driver-side motor 4d that drives the driver-side wiper blade 1d.

[0052] The passenger-side communication circuit 12p transmits and receives control information to and from the first wiper drive control unit 5d. The passenger-side communication circuit 12p receives, as the control information, for example, the current position of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's side from the driver-side communication circuit 12d. The passenger-side communication circuit 12p also transmits, as the control information, for example, the current position of the wiper blade 1p on the passenger's side to the driver-side communication circuit 12d.

[0053] The passenger-side drive circuit 13p is a three-phase inverter circuit equipped with multiple switching transistors, similar to the driver-side drive circuit 13d. The passenger-side drive circuit 13p generates a U-phase drive signal, a V-phase drive signal, and a W-phase drive signal by operating the U-phase switching leg, the V-phase switching leg, and the W-phase switching leg in a time-series manner based on the first to sixth PWM signals input from the passenger-side CPU 11p.

[0054] Passenger-side drive circuit 13p outputs a U-phase drive signal from its U-phase output terminal to a first input terminal of passenger-side motor 4p, a V-phase drive signal from its V-phase output terminal to a second input terminal of passenger-side motor 4p, and a W-phase drive signal from its W-phase output terminal to a third input terminal of passenger-side motor 4p.

[0055] Next, the operation of the wiping device A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0056] In this wiping device A, a first wiper drive control unit 5d controls the rotation of a driver's seat side motor 4d based on a control program, causing the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d to perform the wiping operation on the surface to be wiped W. Also, in this wiping device A, a second wiper drive control unit 5p controls the rotation of a passenger's seat side motor 4p based on a control program, causing the passenger's seat side wiper blade 1p to perform the wiping operation on the surface to be wiped W.

[0057] In addition, in this wiping device A, control information of the first wiper drive control unit 5d and control information of the second wiper drive control unit 5p are shared with each other via a pair of communication circuits 12d, 12p. This sharing of control information allows the driver's side wiper blade 1d and the passenger's side wiper blade 1p to perform wiping operations (opposing wiping operations or parallel wiping operations) in synchronization. That is, the wiping control of the driver's side wiper blade 1d by the first wiper drive control unit 5d and the wiping control of the passenger's side wiper blade 1p by the second wiper drive control unit 5p are substantially the same.

[0058] Of the pair of wiper drive controllers 5d, 5p, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side, which corresponds to the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side, performs a load evaluation process for the motor 4d on the driver's seat side in accordance with the flowchart shown in Fig. 2. This load evaluation process is a control process performed in an initial stage in the wiping control of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side by the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side.

[0059] In this load evaluation process, the driver's seat side CPU 12d estimates the load (motor load) of the driver's seat side motor 4d that drives the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d based on the angle signal input from the angle detection circuit 8d (step S1). That is, the driver's seat side CPU 12d estimates, as an estimated load amount, the load of the driver's seat side motor 4d that drives the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d that moves first at the start of operation of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p.

[0060] Then, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side determines whether the estimated value of the motor load (load estimated value Ld) exceeds a predetermined load threshold value Lr (step S2). Note that the load threshold value Lr is a control parameter pre-stored in the ROM 9d.

[0061] Here, the load on the driver's seat side motor 4d depends on the frictional resistance of the wiped surface W. The load on the driver's seat side motor 4d, i.e., the frictional resistance of the wiped surface W, is relatively large when the wiped surface W is dry, and is relatively small when the wiped surface W is wet.

[0062] If the determination in step S2 is "Yes," that is, if the load estimation value Ld is greater than the load threshold value Lr and the surface to be wiped W is dry, the driver's seat side CPU 12d sets "1" to the DRY flag set in the RAM 10d at startup (step S3). On the other hand, if the determination in step S2 is "No," that is, if the load estimation value Ld is equal to or less than the load threshold value Lr and the surface to be wiped W is wet, the driver's seat side CPU 12d sets "0" to the DRY flag (step S4).

[0063] When the load evaluation process is completed in this manner, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side performs a setting process of the correction flag that was set in the RAM 10d together with the DRY flag at the time of startup. In this setting process, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side determines the set value (1 or 0) of the DRY flag as a result of the load evaluation process described above (step S1a).

[0064] If the determination in step S1a is "Yes," that is, if the DRY flag is set to "1," the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side sets the correction flag to "1" (step S2a). On the other hand, if the determination in step S1a is "No," that is, if the DRY flag is set to "0," the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side sets the correction flag to "0" (step S3a).

[0065] When the process of setting the correction flag is completed in this manner, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side performs a process of correcting the upper reversal position PUd of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side by referring to the set value of the correction flag. That is, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side determines the set value (1 or 0) of the correction flag (step S1b).

[0066] If the determination in step S1b is "Yes," that is, if the correction flag is set to "1," the driver's seat side CPU 12d corrects the upper reversal position PUd of the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d (step S2b). That is, the driver's seat side CPU 12d corrects the upper reversal position PUd to a corrected upper reversal position PUd1, PUp1 (see FIG. 1) that is closer to the lower reversal position PLd so that the driver's seat side wiper blade 1d does not overrun from the default upper reversal position PUd and interfere with the vehicle pillar.

[0067] On the other hand, if the determination in step S1b is "No," that is, if the correction flag is set to "0," the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side cancels the correction of the upper reversal position PUd (step S3b). That is, the CPU 12d on the driver's seat side returns the upper reversal position PUd of the wiper blade 1d on the driver's seat side to the default upper reversal position PUd.

[0068] Furthermore, the passenger-side CPU 11p accesses the driver-side RAM 10d via the passenger-side communication circuit 12p to refer to the set value of the correction flag. That is, the passenger-side CPU 11p acquires the set value of the correction flag from the driver-side RAM 10d as shared control information, and performs the correction process for the upper reversal position PUp of the passenger-side wiper blade 1p.

[0069] Specifically, the CPU 11p on the passenger side corrects the upper reversal position PUp to a corrected upper reversal position PUd1, PUp1, which is closer to the lower reversal position PLp, so that the passenger side wiper blade 1p does not overrun from the default upper reversal position PUp and interfere with the vehicle pillar.

[0070] As such, the wiping device A of this embodiment comprises a pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p that reciprocate on the wiped surface W between lower reversal positions PLd, PLp and upper reversal positions PUd, Pup, a pair of motors 4d, 4p that drive the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p, respectively, and a pair of wiper drive control units 5d, 5p (control units) that control the pair of motors 4d, 4p.

[0071] In addition, in this wiping device A, the pair of wiper drive control units 5d, 5p (control units) estimate the load of the driver's side motor 4d (one of the motors) that drives the driver's side wiper blade 1d (one of the wiper blades) of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p, which moves first when operation starts, as a load estimation amount, and correct the upper reversal positions PUd, PUP to corrected upper reversal positions PUd1, PUP1, which are in a direction closer to the lower reversal positions PLd, PLp, based on the load estimation amount.

[0072] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a wiping device A that can suppress overrun of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p caused by a change in the state of the surface to be wiped W. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to effectively suppress interference between the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p and the vehicle pillar caused by a change in the state of the surface to be wiped W.

[0073] In addition, in the wiping device A, the pair of wiper drive controllers 5d, 5p (controllers) are provided in pairs corresponding to the pair of motors 4d, 4p, and share control information with each other. According to this embodiment, even if the first wiper drive controller 5d and the second wiper drive controller 5p are individually provided for each pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p, it is possible to accurately suppress overrun of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p.

[0074] In addition, in the wiping device A, the pair of wiper drive control units 5d, 5p (control units) correct the upper reversal positions PUd, PUp in a direction closer to the lower reversal positions PLd, PLp when the load estimated amount Ld is greater than a predetermined load threshold value Lr. According to this embodiment, it is possible to accurately suppress overrun of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p.

[0075] In addition, in this wiping device A, one wiper blade is a driver's side wiper blade 1d that is provided on the driver's side of the vehicle. That is, this wiping device A corrects the upper reversal positions PUd, PUp based on the load of the driver's side motor 4d corresponding to the driver's side wiper blade 1d, which moves ahead of the passenger side wiper blade 1p at the start of operation. According to this embodiment, it is possible to more accurately suppress overrun of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p.

[0076] In addition, in this wiping device A, the pair of wiper drive controllers 5d, 5p (controllers) correct the upper reversal positions PUd, Pup when the reciprocating motion is an opposing wiping operation, that is, when the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reciprocate in an opposite manner. According to this embodiment, it is possible to accurately suppress overrun of the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p when the pair of wiper blades 1d, 1p reciprocate in an opposite manner. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] A...wiping device, W...wiped surface, PUd, PUp...upper inverted position, PUd1, PUp1...corrected upper inverted position, PLd, PLp...lower inverted position, Rd, Rp...wiping range, Td, Tp...wiper shaft, 1d, 1p...wiper blade, 2d, 2p...wiper arm, 3...drive control device, 4d, 4p...motor (power source), 5d, 5p...wiper drive control section, 6d, 6p...motor body, 7d, 7p...reduction mechanism, 8d, 8p...angle detection circuit, 9d, 9p...ROM, 10d, 10p...RAM, 11d, 11p...CPU, 12d, 12p...communication circuit, 13d, 13p...drive circuit

Claims

1. A wiping device comprising a pair of wiper blades that reciprocate between a lower inverted position and an upper inverted position on a surface to be wiped, a pair of motors that respectively drive the pair of wiper blades, and a control unit that controls the pair of motors, The control unit estimates the load of one of the motors that drives one of the pair of wiper blades, which moves first at the start of operation, as a load estimation amount, and corrects the upper reversal position in a direction closer to the lower reversal position based on the load estimation amount.

2. The wiping device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the control units are provided corresponding to the pair of the motors, and the control units share control information with each other.

3. 3. The wiping device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects the upper reversal position when the estimated load amount is greater than a predetermined load threshold value.

4. 3. The wiping device according to claim 1, wherein one of the wiper blades is provided on a driver's seat side of the vehicle.

5. 3. The wiping device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects the upper reversal position when the wiper blade performs an opposing wiping operation.

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