With the advancement in the field of ergonomic vehicle design, the demand for advanced windshield wiper systems – that are not only visually appealing but also effective in cleaning the vehicle’s windshield – has also increased.
Now, an American automaker Tesla is bringing its innovation to windshield wipers with a futuristic-looking new electromagnetic wiper design. A recently published patent application from Tesla revealed that the company is designing a futuristic wiper assembly or the company’s upcoming halo car – the next-generation Roadster.
Most conventional windshield wiper systems use multiple wiper blades that are moved by an electric motor including many mechanical components, such as gears and bearings. These components need additional power which is supplied by the in-vehicle battery, thereby reducing the electric vehicle’s range. Besides, it does not sufficiently clear the windshield, which may hamper the unobstructed field-of-view of the path ahead.
These wipers also can rust and wear down fast due to the repetitive movements that wipers have to do. It can be difficult to design a dual wiper system that can correctly clean a windshield with more complex curvature.
On the contrary, Tesla’s design will use and move along an electromagnetic system under the hood. It involves the use of a linear actuator that may include a guide rail and an electromagnetic moving block. Tesla also claims that the design is also modular, enabling easy installation.
The electromagnetic wiper system includes a wiper-arrangement that includes a wiper arm and a wiper blade, which may be attached to each other, and thus, form a linear mono wiper in an uncluttered design.
“The disclosed electromagnetic wiper system may include a linear actuator that may include a guide rail and an electromagnetic moving block. The guide rail may include a plurality of permanent magnet bars that may be disposed horizontally along a curvature of the windshield of the vehicle. The electromagnetic moving block may act as an electromagnetic train, and may include a plurality of perforations and at least an electromagnetic coil that surrounds the plurality of perforations in the electromagnetic moving block,” reads the patent application.
“The linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block through the plurality of permanent magnet bars may be controlled to steer the wiper arm that may be coupled to the electromagnetic moving block, back and forth across the entire length of the windshield to wipe a defined region, for example, the entire transparent area (i.e., near cent percent area) of the windshield. This may result in minimal friction during the linear motion of the electromagnetic moving block.”
The more interesting thing about the patent design is that the entire mono wiper assembly stows away beneath the hood of a vehicle when not in use. This gives an electric car windshield a clean, uncluttered look, and improves a car’s aerodynamic performance during operations.
A system is explained in detail in a recently published patent, titled “Electromagnetic Windshield Wiper System.”
