Why replace a simple but essential thing that works (i.e. current wipers) with a more complicated one that it will have lots of additional ways to fail?
Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
41–50 of 142 posts
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#42Wiper blades fail.
One of the nice properties of the dual-blade setup is that if the one in front of the driver fails during a hard rain, it's possible to lean over and drive looking through the passenger-side of the front window -- at least until you can safely exit a freeway and find a safe place to stop.
Maybe less critical if the car is actually self-driving, so I guess I'm not surprised folks are thinking about this.
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#43"...is supposed to be more efficient and better-looking..." Not sure how it can be better looking—all luxury cars already hide their wipers below the hood line already. Seems overly complex with many more failure points. Wipers are the one thing you don't want to fail when you need them.
>the one thing you don't want to fail I wouldn't dare correct you as I have no data, but I suspect many people would put brakes or a seatbelt ahead of wipers
Touché haha. The thing with wipers are they are typically not used often in most places, so you won't know they are broken until you really need them.
Brake and seatbelts typically display warning signs before failure (but not always of course).
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#44Wiper blades fail. One of the nice properties of the dual-blade setup is that if the one in front of the driver fails during a hard rain, it's possible to lean over and drive looking through the passenger-side of the front window -- at least until you can safely exit a freeway and find a safe place to stop. Maybe less critical if the car is actually self-driving, so I guess I'm not surprised folks are thinking about…
More critical in the case of Tesla, where there are cameras mounted behind the windshield (on the rear-view mirror). This is one of the typical talking points in the LIDAR vs optical debate, because the rain makes it difficult to see with passive optical sensors.
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#45Why replace a simple but essential thing that works (i.e. current wipers) with a more complicated one that it will have lots of additional ways to fail?
Can you elaborate? I got the impression that the new system is less complicated and has fewer moving parts and points of failure.
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#46That looks like a linear motor, which unless I'm missing something is spectacularly power hungry. By the looks of it, it also need linear bearings, which are difficult to seal against leaves, dirt, moss, ice and snow. I'm going to wager £20 and say its not a game changer.
> That looks like a linear motor, which unless I'm missing something is spectacularly power hungry.
They are, by themselves, not more power hungry than the corresponding type of rotary motors.
Their biggest problem regarding power usage is that they can't use gears to gain mechanical advantage. Since electric motor losses are roughly proportional to their torque (or force, in case of linear motor), it is often the case that the linear motor will require more power.
But a quick look at some of the windshield wipers mechanisms shows that rotary motors that drive them are in a mechanically pretty disadvantageous position, with a very short lever arm compared to what a linear motor would be. So it might work well in this case.
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#47Why replace a simple but essential thing that works (i.e. current wipers) with a more complicated one that it will have lots of additional ways to fail?
Horses work too. Just saying.
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#48OT: have you ever noticed that most scifi movies depict futuristic cars that can hover or fly but which still use traditional windscreen wipers. You'd have thought they'd add a force field that repels rain or a special coating but no, traditional wipers. Even Bladerunner 2048 did this.
I always think it's a bit incongruous to see them on the cockpit windows of airliners. Sort of like having a vacuum tube power supply for your computer. (Two other solutions exist. One is spinning the window, you'll see it on ships. The other is making the window hot.)
> One is spinning the window, you'll see it on ships.
An example, as used for machine tooling but the exact same mechanism used on ships: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPVBnBK09OM
Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system
#49If they want to have one single blade move back and forth, that's cool, but this seems like a bafflingly complex way to do it. What's wrong with a normal linear actuator? It's powered by a regular electric motor (something right in Tesla's wheelhouse), can be built very reliable, and is plenty efficient. There's no reason to build the Space Shuttle when people just want an electric car, and won't be able to tell the…
Tesla is one of the most open companies with their patents [1]. I don’t share your scepticism. I would think this is protection against someone else patenting the idea and inhibiting their ability to innovate.
[1] https://www.tesla.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you