FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, rule 13]
"WINDSHIELD WIPER ASSEMBLY"
APPLICANT
TATA MOTORS LIMITED, an Indian company having its registered office at
Bombay house, 24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400 001,
Maharashtra, INDIA.
INVENTOR Sagar S. Tikar, Rajendra Y. Khode
All Indian national
of TATA MOTORS LIMITED, an Indian company
having its registered office at Bombay House,
24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001 Maharashtra, India
The following specification particularly describes the disclosure and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure generally relates to windshield wipers, and more particularly, to a control system for windshield wiper assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Windshield wiper assembly or windscreen wiper is a device used to remove rain and debris from a windscreen or windshield of a vehicle, thereby giving a clear view in front or rear of the vehicle. When the windshield wiper assembly is operated, the blades of the windshield wiper move back and fourth, to displace visibility limiting matter, e.g. rain, water, snow, dust and other debris, from windshield of the vehicle. The windshield wiper assembly, in an inoperative state thereof, typically rests on the windshield of the vehicle at its home position. Most of the times, when the wipers are in operating conditions and the ignition is suddenly turned off, without switching off the control system of the windshield wiper assembly, the wiper arms get instantly stopped irrespective of whether it is on its home position or not. Due to such resting of the wiper arms on windshield at position other than its home position, an obviously unwanted situation is created.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
The objective of disclosure is to provide a reliable, cost effective, easy to manufacture, and simple system for operating a windshield wiper assembly that overcomes or obviates the disadvantages associated with the prior art.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a system for operating a windshield wiper assembly that precludes the wiper arm from an undesired stopping.
Another objective of the disclosure is to provide a system for operating a windshield wiper assembly that is capable of sensing the position of a wiper arm, when the wiper arm has stopped movement.
Yet, another objective of the disclosure is to provide a system for operating a windshield wiper assembly that is capable of sensing the status of the engine.
Further objects and features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The embodiments of the present disclosure relates to a method of operating a windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle having a vehicle drive unit, a wiper motor configured to receive power from the vehicle drive unit, and at least one wiper arm connected to the wiper motor. The method.comprising identifying a position of the at least one wiper arm as at least one of a home position and a displaced position; receiving an input respective of a status of the drive unit; connecting the wiper motor to a rechargeable battery upon identifying that the wiper arm is in the displaced position, and the drive unit is turned off; and moving one or more wiper blades from the displaced position to the home position, wherein the movement of the wiper blades being caused by the wiper motor powered by the rechargeable battery.
Embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to a windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle. The windshield wiper assembly a vehicle drive unit; a wiper motor configured to receive power from the vehicle drive unit; a wiper arm connected to the wiper motor; a rechargeable battery configured to be electrically coupled with the wiper motor; and a

control unit capable of sensing the position of the wiper arm, to electrically coupling the rechargeable battery to the wiper motor when the engine is turned off.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a view of a vehicle wherein the wiper arm of the windshield wiper assembly is resting at a home position thereof.
FIG. 2 illustrates another view of the wiper arm wherein the wiper arm of the windshield wiper assembly is positioned at a displaced position thereof.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a control system for windshield wipers, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 illustrates another flow diagram for a method of operating a windshield wiper assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
The exemplary embodiments described herein detail for illustrative purposes are subject to many variations in structure and design. It should be emphasized, however, that the present invention is not limited to a particular windshield wiper assembly, as shown and described. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but these are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate views of a portion of a vehicle 100 with the wiper arm 102 of the windshield wiper assembly 104. In FIG. 1, the wiper arm 102 of the windshield wiper assembly 104 is shown to be resting at a home position thereof. More specifically, in the home position of the wiper arm 102 (also alternatively referred to as a "parked position") the wiper arm 102 rests on a corner of the windshield 106. Therefore, in the home position of the wiper arm 102, the wiper arm 102 does not obstruct view of an occupant of the vehicle 100. During the conventional working, the wiper arm 102 moves back and fourth on the windshield 106, wiping off the water and/or other of the windshield 106. Subsequently, when the wiper assembly is turned off, the wiper arm 102 gradually comes to a halt while resting in the bottom corner of the windshield 106.
FIG. 2 illustrates a view of the wiper arm 102 of the windshield wiper assembly 104, in which the wiper arm 102 is shown to a displaced position thereof. More specifically, in the displaced position of the wiper arm 102, the wiper arm 102 is not at the corner of the windshield 106 and instead the wiper arm 102 rests somewhere on the central portion of the windshield 106. In such a position the wiper arm 102 may obstruct the view of the vehicle occupants. Such positioning of the wiper arm 102 may be seen in conventional working of the windshield wiper systems. Such positioning of the wiper arm 102 results in the conventional windshield wiper systems, when the vehicle power unit is turned off without before turning off the wiper. Since the conventional windshield wiper assemblies were powered by the vehicle power unit, thus the wiper arm 102 stopped the movement the movement ignition is turned off.
The windshield wiper assembly 104 aims to preclude such problems. The windshield wiper assembly 104 enables movement of the wiper arm 102 from a displaced position to a home position thereof, even after the ignition of the vehicle is turned off.
The windshield wiper assembly 104 includes of the present disclosure is connected to derive power from a vehicle drive unit (not illustrated). As would be apparent to shoes skilled in that art, the vehicle drive unit may be an internal combustion engine of any suitable kind, such as a petrol or diesel engine, depending upon the kind of vehicle. The wiper motor 108 (not illustrated in FIG. 1 or 2) is configured to receive power from the

vehicle drive unit. The ignition switch 114, illustrated in FIG. 3, is used to turn off or turn on the vehicle drive unit 108.
An end portion of the wiper arm 102 is connected to the wiper motor 108. A rechargeable battery 110 is configured to be electrically coupled with the wiper motor 108. Further, a control unit 112 is capable of sensing the position of the wiper arm 102, to electrically coupling the rechargeable battery 110 to the wiper motor 108 when the engine is turned off. The control unit may be a relay unit. The rechargeable battery 110 is configured to be electrically coupled with the wiper motor 108 via the relay unit. In one embodiment of the present invention, the rechargeable battery 110 may be a conventional vehicle battery.
The relay unit includes a pair of relays coupled with an ignition switch 114, the wiper motor 108, and the rechargeable battery 110. The relay unit connects and disconnects the rechargeable battery from the wiper motor, as shown in FIG. 3.
During the application of the present windshield wiper assembly 104, the following method may be used. At step 400 of FIG. 4, identification of a position of the at least one wiper arm 102 is done. The position of the wiper arm 102 is either a home position or a displaced position. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, such identification of the position of the wiper arm 102 may be done by a sensor (not illustrated). At step 402, input with respect of the status of the vehicle drive unit is received. Such input is also obtained by a sensor. At this step, the status of the vehicle drive unit is identified as turned on or turned off, i.e. if the ignition off on or not.
It may be herein be note that, in alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the step at 400 may be performed after step 402, or both the steps may be performed simultaneously without deviating from the spirit of the present disclosure. At step 404, connection of the wiper motor 108 to a rechargeable battery 110 is done, upon identifying that the wiper arm 102 is in the displaced position, and the drive unit is turned off. After, the electrical connection between the wiper motor 108 and the rechargeable battery 110 is established; the wiper blades are moved from the displaced position to the home position

thereof, at step 406. The movement of the wiper blades, at such situation, is being caused by the wiper motor powered by the rechargeable battery.
Subsequently, the input respective of the status of the drive unit is continuously received, and the wiper motor is disconnected from the rechargeable battery when the drive unit is detected to be turned on. Further, input respective of the status of the drive unit is also use to determine if the wiper motor is to be kept connected with drive unit, as long as the drive unit is turned on.
Therefore, the basic logic of the integrated design of the windshield wiper assembly 10 is that when the wiper function of the combination switch is "on" and simultaneously ignition switch or accessory switch is made "off, then the relay unit will sense the wiper arm parking position from wiper motor. If the wiper arms are at parking position, the relay unit will not work. If the wiper arms are not at parking position, relay unit will work and bring the wiper arms at parking position. During this situation the diode module will prevent the voltage supply from battery to ignition switch which will avoid the unnecessary ignition "ON".
The logic of relay unit is as follows. While ignition switch and accessory switch are "off and wiper arms are not at parking position, Relay 1 of the relay unit, will be "on". It will connect the wiper motor directly to the vehicle battery for its operation and the wiping arms will be moved to the resting position. At the same time Relay 2 of the relay unit will detect the electrical signal from wiper motor for parking position. If the signal is detected (i.e. park position is achieved), Relay 2 will disconnect the wiper motor from battery.
The foregoing description provides specific embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that these embodiment are described for purpose of illustration only, and that numerous other alterations and modifications may be practiced by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It is intended that all such modifications and alterations be included insofar as they come within the scope of the disclosure as claimed or the equivalents thereof.

Referral Numerals
Description
100 Vehicle
102 Wiper arm
104 Windshield wiper assembly
106 Windshield
108 Vehicle drive unit
110 Rechargeable battery
112 Control unit
114 Ignition switch
400 Step
402 Step
404 Step
406 Step

We claim:
1. A method of operating a windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle having a vehicle
drive unit, a wiper motor configured to receive power from the vehicle drive unit, and at
least one wiper arm connected to the wiper motor, the method comprising:
identifying a position of the at least one wiper arm as at least one of a home position and a displaced position;
receiving an input respective of a status of the drive unit;
connecting the wiper motor to a rechargeable battery upon identifying that the wiper arm is in the displaced position, and the drive unit is turned off;
preventing the voltage supply from battery to ignition switch through relay unit by implementing the diode module , which will avoid the unnecessary ignition "ON"; and
moving one or more wiper blades from the displaced position to the home position, wherein the movement of the wiper blades being caused by the wiper motor powered by the rechargeable battery.
2. The method of operating the windshield wiper assembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising again receiving an input respective of the status of the drive unit for disconnecting the wiper motor from the rechargeable battery when the drive unit is turned on.
3. The method of operating the windshield wiper assembly as claimed in claim 2 further comprising receiving an input respective of the status of the drive unit for allowing continuous electrical connection of the wiper motor with drive unit, when the drive unit is turned on.

4. The method of operating the windshield wiper assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the identification of the position of the wiper arm and the receipt of the input respective of the status of the drive unit is done by at least one sensor.
5. The method of operating the windshield wiper assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein a relay unit connects and disconnects the rechargeable battery from the wiper motor.
6. The method of operating a windshield wiper assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein a sensor identifies the position of the wiper arm as at least one of a home position and a displaced position.
7. A windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle, the windshield wiper assembly comprising:
a vehicle drive unit;
a wiper motor configured to receive power from the vehicle drive unit;
a wiper arm connected to the wiper motor;
a rechargeable battery configured to be electrically coupled with the wiper motor; and
a control unit capable of sensing the position of the wiper arm, to electrically coupling the rechargeable battery to the wiper motor when the engine is turned off.

8. The windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control unit is a relay unit along with diode module.
9. The windshield wiper assembly for a vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the relay unit includes a pair of relays coupled with an ignition switch, the wiper motor, and the rechargeable battery.