Disclosed is a vehicle having a side mirror with a front (e.g. glass 302) and back (e.g. reflective layer 304) surface, a front sensor 206 adjacent the front surface for collecting a first ambient light intensity, a back sensor 210 adjacent the back surface for collecting a second ambient light intensity, and an opaqueness detector that determines whether condensation is present on the side mirror by comparing the ambient light intensities. The back sensor may be adjacent to an aperture 308 in the reflective layer. The aperture may be camouflaged by an electrochromic layer 314. The sensors may be coupled to their respective surfaces. An additional front sensor may be provided. A plurality of back sensors may be arranged in an array, each with respective apertures. Also disclosed is a corresponding method. The presence of condensation may be determined when the second ambient light intensity is less than the first be a predetermined value. The type of condensation (rain/snow/ice) may be determined by how much less the second ambient light intensity is than the first. The location of the condensation may be determined via a back sensor array.
Condensation detection for vehicle surfaces via ambient light
2018-11-28
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B60R Fahrzeuge, Fahrzeugausstattung oder Fahrzeugteile, soweit nicht anderweitig vorgesehen , VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR |
CONDENSATION DETECTION FOR VEHICLE SURFACES VIA AMBIENT LIGHT
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