Claims:

1. A system (100) for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper (6) of a vehicle, the system (100) comprising:
a first sensor (200) associated with the hood, and is configured to generate a first signal upon detecting a de-latched state of the hood;
a second sensor (201) associated with the wiper (6) and is configured to generate a second signal corresponding to position of the wiper (6) relative to a windshield (1) of the vehicle;
a control unit (202) communicatively coupled to the first sensor (200) and the second sensor (201) wherein, the control unit (202) is configured to:
determine, position of a wiper arm (3) of the wiper (6) based on the second signal, upon receiving the first signal;
generate, a warning signal, through an indication unit (203) upon determining the position of the wiper arm (3) to be in a lifted position (B).

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first sensor (200) is disposed in an engine bay of the vehicle and contacts the hood of the vehicle.

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the warning signal is at least one of an audio signal and a visual signal.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication unit (203) is at least one of an audio device, visual device, and an audio-visual device.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sensor (201) is configured to detect elasticity of a spring in the wiper arm (3) of the wiper (6) to determine the position of the wiper (6) relative to the windshield (1).

6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication unit (203) generates the warning signal until the wiper (6) is moved to a parked position (A).

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifted position (B) of the wiper (6) is a non-operational state of the wiper (6), and the parked position (A) of the wiper (6) is the resting state of the wiper (6) on the windshield (1) of the vehicle.

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit (202) is configured to receive the second signal from the second sensor (201) corresponding to the position of the wiper (6) subsequent to receiving the first signal from the first sensor (200) corresponding to the de-latched state of the hood.

9. A method for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper (6) in a vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving by a control unit (202) of the vehicle, a first signal generated by a first sensor (200) upon detecting a de-latched state of the hood;
receiving by the control unit (202), a second signal generated by a second sensor (201) corresponding to a position of the wiper (6) relative to a windshield (1) of the vehicle;
determining by the control unit (202), position of a wiper arm (3) of the wiper (6) based on the second signal, upon receiving the first signal;
generating by the control unit (202), a warning signal through an indication unit (203) upon determining the position of the wiper arm (3) to be in a lifted position (B).

10. A vehicle comprising a system (100) for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper (6) as claimed in claim 1.
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure relates to the field of automobiles. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a system for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper. Further, embodiments of the disclosure discloses the system and a method which generates a warning signal when the wiper is in a lifted position and operator tries to open the hood.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Windscreen wiper assemblies are equipped in almost all the vehicles such as passenger vehicles including but not limiting to hatch backs and Multi utility vehicle (MUV’s), and Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV’s) and commercial vehicles. In some cases, windscreen wiper assemblies are installed at both the front and rear windscreens of the vehicle. The windscreen wipers help in cleaning out the water droplets, snow, dust, and other foreign particles settled on the windscreen and thereby to improve visibility. Some of the windscreen wiper assemblies have an inbuilt water jet system wherein, the water from a storage tank may be sprayed onto the front or rear windscreens of the vehicle.

Existing wiper arm assembly consists of a wiper arm and a wiper blade connected to the wiper arm. Typically, one end of the wiper arm is fixed to a hood region of the vehicle and other end of the wiper arm is hinged to the wiper blade. The wiper blade moves on the windshield of the vehicle to wipe/clean the windscreen thereby enhancing the visibility, by clearing water or dust or dirt deposited on the windshield of the vehicle. Conventional wiper assemblies include a spring which is provided in the wiper arm to provide required pressure on the wiper blade to acquire the shape of the windshield at different angle/positions during working and non-working conditions of the wiper arm assembly.

Often wiper may be lifted away from the windshield i.e., wiper may be operated to a lifted position for cleaning the wiper blade or the windshield of the vehicle. Also the user may also lift the wiper away from the windshield of parked vehicles to avoid damage to the wiper blades from extreme temperature conditions on sunny days and also collection of dust and debris. With the wiper in the lifted position, the user or the technician may sometimes accidentally open and lift the hood to access the engine bay. Under such circumstances, the hood of the vehicle tends to collide with the wiper which is in the lifted position. Consequently, the hood of the vehicle may be damaged. In few other scenarios, when the hood is lifted upwardly with great force, the hood may collide with the wiper in the lifted position and the wiper may tend to fall back onto the windshield. The wiper impacting onto the windshield may often break or result in cracks on the windshield to an extent where the complete windshield might have to be replaced. The above-mentioned circumstances involving trivial tasks such as lifting the hood of the vehicle when the wiper is in the lifted position may often lead to high maintenance and service costs due to the damages caused by the collision of the hood with the wiper.

The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above, or any other limitation associated with the prior arts.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One or more shortcomings of the conventional system or method are overcome, and additional advantages are provided through the provision of the method as claimed in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a system for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper of a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a first sensor associated with the hood and is configured to generate a first signal upon detecting a de-latched state of the hood. A second sensor associated with the wiper is provided and is configured to generate a second signal corresponding to position of the wiper relative to a windshield of the vehicle. A control unit is communicatively coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor where, the control unit is configured to determine, position of a wiper arm of the wiper based on the second signal, upon receiving the first signal. The control unit is also configured to generate, a warning signal, through an indication unit upon determining the position of the wiper arm to be in a lifted position.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the first sensor is disposed in an engine bay of the vehicle and contacts the hood of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the warning signal is at least one of an audio signal and a visual signal.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the indication unit is at least one of an audio device, visual device, and an audio-visual device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second sensor is configured to detect elasticity of a spring in the wiper arm of the wiper to determine the position of the wiper relative to the windshield.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the indication unit generates the warning signal until the wiper is moved to a parked position.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the lifted position of the wiper is a non-operational state of the wiper, and the parked position of the wiper is the resting state of the wiper on the windshield of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control unit is configured to receive the second signal from the second sensor corresponding to the position of the wiper subsequent to receiving the first signal from the first sensor corresponding to the de-latched state of the hood.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a method for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper in a vehicle is disclosed. The method includes steps of receiving by a control unit of the vehicle, a first signal generated by a first sensor upon detecting a de-latched state of the hood. The next step involves receiving by the control unit, a second signal generated by a second sensor corresponding to a position of the wiper relative to a windshield of the vehicle. The control unit subsequently determines a position of a wiper arm of the wiper based on the second signal, upon receiving the first signal. Further, the control unit generates a warning signal through an indication unit upon determining the position of the wiper arm to be in a lifted position.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wiper in a parked position on a windscreen of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wiper in a lifted position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of components of the system for preventing collision of the hood with the wiper, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method of preventing collision of the hood with the wiper, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the hydraulic braking system for the vehicle without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other systems for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristics of the disclosure, as to its organization, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusions, such that a system that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such mechanism. In other words, one or more elements in the device or mechanism proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the mechanism.

As used in the description below the term “control unit” refers to a hardware component such as at least one processor, volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, software comprising instructions executable by a processor, or a combination of software and hardware. The control unit may be adaptive to the vehicle audible device control unit or may be a centralized control unit of the vehicle or may be a dedicated control unit to the system associated with the centralized control unit of the vehicle. Further, the memory unit may be integral part of the control unit or may be communicatively coupled to control unit. The control unit may include specialized processing units such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc. The processing unit may include a microprocessor, such as AMD Athlon, Duron or Opteron, ARM’s application, embedded or secure processors, other line of processors, and the like.

Embodiments of the present disclosure discloses a system for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper of a vehicle. When the wiper is in the uplifted position, the user or the technician may accidentally open and lift the hood to access the engine bay. Under such circumstances, the hood of the vehicle tends to collide with the wiper which is in the uplifted position. Consequently, the hood of the vehicle may be damaged. In few other scenarios, when the hood is lifted upwardly with great force, the hood may collide with the wiper in the uplifted position and the wiper may tend to fall back onto the windshield. The wiper impacting onto the windshield may often break or result in cracks on the windshield to an extent where the complete windshield might have to be replaced.

Accordingly, the present disclosure discloses a system for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper of a vehicle. The system includes a first sensor associated with the hood and is configured to generate a first signal upon detecting a de-latched state of the hood. The system also includes a second sensor associated with the wiper and is configured to generate a second signal corresponding to position of the wiper relative to a windshield of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the second sensor is configured to detect elasticity of a spring in the wiper arm of the wiper to determine the position of the wiper relative to the windshield. Further, the system includes a control unit which is communicatively coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor where, the control unit is configured to determine, position of a wiper arm of the wiper based on the second signal, upon receiving the first signal. The control unit is also configured to generate, a warning signal, through an indication unit upon determining the position of the wiper arm to be in a lifted position. The indication unit generates the warning signal until the wiper is moved to a parked position. The control unit receives the second signal from the second sensor corresponding to the position of the wiper subsequent to receiving the first signal from the first sensor corresponding to the de-latched state of the hood. This configuration of the system and corresponding method prevent collision of hood with the wiper of the vehicle, thereby preventing damages.

The following paragraphs describe the present disclosure with reference to Figs. 1 to 5.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wiper (6) in a parked position (A) in a vehicle. Generally, the vehicle windscreen wiper system (100) consists of at least one wiper (6). Each of the at least one wiper (6) [hereinafter referred to as the wiper] includes a wiper arm (3) driven by at least one motor (5) [hereinafter referred to as the motor]. The motor (5) and the wiper arm (3) may be installed at a front and a rear windshield (1) of the vehicle based on requirement. The motor (5) may draw power from a battery of the vehicle and may drive or operate the wiper arm (3) across the windshield (1). Links may be used to transmit the power from the motor (5) to the wiper arm (3) which is commonly known in the art. The wiper arm (3) may be equipped with sprayers and in another embodiment, the sprayers may be accommodated on a hood of the vehicle. In an embodiment of the disclosure, at least one of a front end and at least one of a rear end of the wiper arm (5) are equipped with a wiper blade (2). The wiper arm (5) is equipped on a front windshield (1) of the vehicle and may be configured to be moved between parked position (A) and end position by the motors (5) for performing wipe and wash operations of the front windshield (1) of the vehicle. Similarly, the at least one rear wiper arm (5) may be equipped on a rear windshield of the vehicle and may be configured to be moved between the parked position (A) and an end position by the drive motor for performing wipe and wash operations on the rear windshield of the vehicle. Further, the front and rear sprayers may be used to spray a windshield (1) sprayer solution onto the front and rear windshield (1) respectively while operating the at least one front and at least one rear wiper arms (3). Further, the wiper arm (5) may also be provided with a spring. The spring is provided in the wiper arm (5) provides required pressure on the wiper blade (2) to acquire the shape of the windshield (1) at different angle or positions during working and non-working conditions of the wiper arm (3) which again is known in the art.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the wiper (6) in a lifted position (B) in the vehicle. A user or a technician may often move the wiper arm (3) and the wiper blade (2) to the lifted position (B) from the parked position (A) for cleaning the wiper blade (2) or the windshield (1) of the vehicle and to avoid damage to the wiper blades (2) from extreme temperature conditions. Under such circumstances, the wiper blade (2) and the wiper arm (3) are in the lifted position (B) as seem from Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system (100) for preventing collision of the hood [not shown] with the wiper (6) and Fig. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of components of the system (100) for preventing collision of the hood with the wiper (6). The system (100) includes a first sensor (200) provided in an engine bay of the vehicle. The first sensor (200) may be configured to contact with the hood such that a signal is transmitted from the first sensor (100) when the hood of the vehicle is operated to the de-latched state. In an embodiment, the first sensor is configured to contact latch of the hood to determine condition of the said hood. The first sensor (200) may be communicatively coupled to a control unit (202) and the first sensor (200) may transmit a first signal to the control unit (202) when the hood of the vehicle is in the de-latched state. In an embodiment, the first sensor (200) may be any sensor, or any detection means for detecting and indicating to the control unit (202), the de-latched state of the hood. The user/technician may operate a lever or a switch in the cabin or in remote key fob associated with the vehicle to initially de-latch the hood when the user/technician intends to open the hood for accessing the engine bay of the vehicle. Once, the hood of the vehicle is de-latched by the user, the first signal is subsequently transmitted from the first sensor (200) to the control unit (202).

The wiper arm (5) may be provided with a second sensor (201) for detecting the position of the wiper (6). A second signal may be transmitted from the second sensor (201) when the user/technician moves the wiper (6) to the lifted position (B) from the parked position (A) for cleaning the wiper blade (2) or the windshield (1) of the vehicle and to avoid damage to the wiper blades (2) from extreme temperature conditions. The second sensor (201) may also be communicatively coupled to the control unit (202) and the second signal may be received by the control unit (202) when the wiper (6) is moved or lies in the lifted position (B). In an embodiment, the spring provided in the wiper arm (5) may be configured with the second sensor (201). The second sensor (201) is configured to detect tension of the spring in the wiper arm (3) of the wiper (6) to determine the position of the wiper (6) relative to the windshield (1). For instance, if the wiper arm (3) is in the parked position, the tension in the spring of the wiper arm (3) is less or non-existent. When the wiper arm (3) is moved to the lifted position, the tension in the spring of the wiper arm (3) increases significantly. This increase in tension may cause the second sensor (201) configured with the spring of the wiper arm (3) to transmit the second signal to the control unit (202). The control unit (202) may consequently interpret this second signal as the position of the wiper (6) to lie in the lifted position (B).

In an embodiment, the control unit (202) may include a receiving module (202a), a processing module (202b), and an indication module (204d). The receiving module (202a) of the control unit (202) may receive the first signal and the second signal from the first sensor (200) and the second sensor (201) respectively. The first signal may be received by the receiving module (202a) of the control unit (202) when the hood of the vehicle is operated to the de-latched state. The receiving module (202a) of the control unit (202) may subsequently check and receive the second signal from the second sensor (201). The received first signal from the first sensor (200) may be processed by the processing module (202b) and the first signal may be interpreted by the control unit (202) as the hood of the vehicle being in the de-latched state. The processing module (202b) of the control unit (202) may also process or interpret the second signal from the second sensor (201) as the position of the wiper (6) being in the lifted state (B) as seen in Fig. 2. Further, based on the output from the processing module (202b), the indication module (202c) of the control unit (202) may indicate or convey a suitable warning signal through an indication unit (203). The warning signal may be at least one of an audio signal and a visual signal. Further, the indication unit (203) is at least one of an audio device, visual device, and an audio-visual device.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of preventing collision of the hood with the wiper (6). As illustrated in Fig. 5, the method comprises one or more blocks illustrating method of preventing collision of the hood with the wiper (6) in the vehicle. The method may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions. Generally, computer-executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform functions or implement abstract data types. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

The first step (300) involves operating the hood release lever/latch or pressing a button by the user/technician for de-latching the hood from the vehicle. Once, the hood is de-latched or unlocked from the vehicle, the next step involves the aspect of the control unit (202) receiving the inputs signals from the first sensor (200) corresponding to the de-latched state of the hood. The second step (301) involves receiving the first signal from the first sensor (200). Once, the hood is de-latched, the first sensor (200) disposed in the engine bay of the vehicle transmits a first signal to the control unit (202). The receiving module (202a) of the control unit receives the first signal and interprets the first signal as an indication that the hood of the vehicle is in the de-latched state. The control unit (202) may subsequently seek for the second signal from the second sensor (201) at the third step (302). The third step involves the aspect of checking if the wiper (6) is in the parked position (A) or in the lifted position (B). If the wiper (6) is in the parked position (A), the second sensor (201) will not transmit any signal. Subsequently, no warning signal is generated by the indication unit (203) at the step (302). The control unit at the step (302) re-checks for the first signal at the step (301) and the process is repeated till the second signal is received from the control unit (202). The second sensor (201) may transmit the second signal when the wiper (6) is in the lifted position (B) and when the tension in the spring of the wiper arm (5) is high. The second sensor (201) detects the increased elasticity in the spring of the wiper (6) and accordingly transmits the second signal to the control unit (202). The receiving module (202a) of the control unit (202) receives the second signal and the processing module (202b) interprets the second signal that the wiper (6) is in the lifted position (B). Subsequently, the indication module (202c) of the control unit (202) that is communicatively coupled to the indication unit (203), causes a waring signal to be generated through the indication unit (203) at the final step (304). As mentioned above, the warning signal may be at least one of the audio signal and the visual signal. Further, the indication unit (203) may be at least one of the audio device, the visual device, and the audio-visual device. The warning signal indicates to the user/technician that the wiper is in the lifted (B) position and lifting the hood with the wiper (6) in the lifted position (B) may cause the hood or the wiper (6) to be damaged. Further, the warning signal may be generated until the wiper (6) is brought back to the parked position (A) by the user/technician. In an embodiment, the first sensor (200) for detecting the de-latched state of the hood in the vehicle may be any sensor known in the art including but not limited to an infrared sensor for measuring the distance of the hood from a pre-determined distance within the engine bay. The first sensor (200) may also be a load bearing sensor where, a reduction in load on the sensor imparted by the hood of the vehicle may be used to detect the de-latched state of the hood. In an embodiment, the second sensor (201) for detecting the position of the wiper (6) may also be any sensor known in the art including but not limited to proximity sensor which may detect the vicinity of the wiper (6) with respect to the windshield (1) of the vehicle to determine the parked position (A) and the lifted position (B) of the wiper (6). In another embodiment, the existing vehicles already include sensors or other detection means for determining the latched or de-latched state of the hood. This existing system which determines the latched state or de-latched state of the hood in the vehicle may be integrated with the system (100) for preventing collision of the hood with the wiper (6).

In an embodiment, a self-locking system may be configured to the hood of the vehicle. The control unit (202) may cause the hood to remain in the locked state when the wiper (6) is in the lifted position (B) such that the user is unable to lift the hood and thereby mitigating any damage to the hood or the wiper (6). In an embodiment, the hood may remain locked, and the warning signal may be indicated simultaneously till the wiper (6) is brought back to the parked position (A).

In an embodiment, the above-mentioned system (100) for preventing collision of the hood with the wiper (6) reduces/prevents the accidental damage to the hood, wiper (6) and the windshield (1) of the vehicle by warning the user/technician of a possible collision between the hood and the wiper (6).

In an embodiment, the overall maintenance cost due to accidental damage due to the hood being lifted with the wiper (6) in the lifted position (B) is drastically reduced. In an embodiment, dents/scratches on the hood, the wiper arm (3) and the windshield (1) of the vehicle is reduced since accidental lifting of the hood with the wiper (6) in the lifted position (B) is prevented.

Equivalents

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding the description may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated in the description.

Referral Numerals:

Referral numerals Description
1 Windshield
2 Wiper blade
3 Wiper arm
4 Link
5 Motor
6 Wiper
200 First sensor
201 Second sensor
202 Control unit
202a Receiving module
202b Processing module
202c Indication module
203 Indication unit
100 System for preventing collision of a hood with a wiper