US 6,250,148 · Granted 2001-06-26
The Rain Sensor Mount That Made Windshields Smart
Your car's windshield wipers automatically turn on when it rains—and this patent is how they detect the water. It's a clever mount that holds a moisture sensor right against the glass so it can "see" raindrops and trigger the wipers without you touching anything.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a housing structure that mounts a rain sensor to a vehicle windshield using adhesive, with a spring mechanism that keeps the sensor's detecting surface pressed against the glass. What's protected here is the specific design of how the sensor sits in the housing, how the spring pushes it toward the windshield, and how the whole assembly attaches and functions as a single integrated unit for detecting moisture on the outside of the glass.
Why it matters
Rain-sensing windshield wipers became a premium feature in cars during the 1990s and 2000s, and this mount design solved a real engineering problem: how to reliably attach an optical sensor to curved glass while keeping it sealed and protected. By patenting this specific mounting approach, Donnelly secured a key position in the auto-parts supply chain for a feature that eventually became standard on many vehicles worldwide.
Real-world use
Every time you get in a modern car on a drizzly day and the wipers automatically start moving without you touching the stalk, a rain sensor mounted according to this patent design is detecting those droplets.
Original USPTO abstract
A mount for mounting a rain sensor includes a housing having an access opening on first side and a port on second side for positioning adjacent an inner surface of the vehicle windshield. The second side is adapted for mounting to a vehicle windshield, for example by a layer of adhesive which is interposed between the housing and the windshield. Optionally, the housing includes an access opening and a cover, which and covers the access opening. A mirror mounting button is provided on either the housing or the cover for mounting a rearview mirror assembly to the mount. A biasing member is supported in the housing and is interposed between the first side of the housing and a rain sensor positioned in the housing, which urges a detecting surface of the rain sensor to project through the port and to optically couple the rain sensor to the vehicle windshield for detecting moisture on an outer surface of the vehicle windshield. The biasing member may comprise, for example, a helical spring or a urethane disc.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,250,148
- Filing date
- 1998-01-07
- Grant date
- 2001-06-26
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- LYNAM NIALL R.
- CPC class
- B60S1/0822
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