Optimal Motion Trajectory Generation for Automotive Windshield Wiper Systems Using the Response Surface Method

A wiper systems is one of important safety related automotive parts to remove rain and snow from a vehicle's windshield. Although there are several criteria to evaluate the wiper motion, over-run, which is the excessive amount of motion of a wiper system, may cause significant damage to itself and generate noise in particular by colliding with a pillar and a body of a vehicle. This study focuses on over-run reduction by optimizing the motion trajectory. Frist, this paper presents a new representation of wiper motion trajectory, by which the peak velocity position and the velocity reduction ratio around the reversal position of motion can be explicitly adjusted. Next, these two items are optimized by using the surface response method. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.