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EP-3810444-B1 - AUTOMOBILE GLAZING DEFOGGER

EP3810444B1EP 3810444 B1EP3810444 B1EP 3810444B1EP-3810444-B1

Inventors

  • DHANABAL, Monisha
  • JAYARAM, Robin C
  • THANGAMANI, ARUNVEL

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20190508

Claims (19)

  1. An automobile glazing defogger (106) comprising: one or more primary defogger coil (102) in a predetermined pattern, design or other representation; and a secondary defogger coil (104) covering the rest of the automobile glazing (100); whereby the primary defogger coil (102) is adapted to heat faster to a specified temperature to provide faster defogging than the secondary defogger coil 104 and to indicate the working of the defogger (106), and said primary and secondary defogger coils (102, 104) being a series of parallel linear resistive conductors on the automobile glazing, and characterised in that the electrical resistance of the primary defogger coil (102) is greater than the resistance of the secondary defogger coil (104).
  2. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary defogger coil (102) is provided on the busbar region, wiper blade, camera and ceramic masking region.
  3. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary defogger coil (102) is visible or invisible.
  4. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the invisibility of the primary defogger coil (102) is achieved by using transparent conductive ink.
  5. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the primary defogger coil (102) is placed behind ceramic masking region of the automobile glazing.
  6. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the primary defogger coil (102) is made by thin wire plotting.
  7. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary and secondary defogger coil (102, 104) is applied on a surface of the automobile glazing.
  8. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary and secondary defogger coil (102, 104) may be sandwiched in a laminated automobile glazing.
  9. The automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the specific power of the primary defogger coil (102) is at least 2 times greater than the specific power of the secondary defogger coil (104).
  10. A method to identify failure in the automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1, comprising: switching on a power supply of the defogger (106); visualizing rapid clearance or non- clearance of fog by one or more primary defogger coil (102) on the automobile glazing (100).
  11. The method to identify failure in the automobile glazing defogger as claimed in claim 10, wherein observing the rapid clearance of fog by the primary defogger coil (102) indicates the working of the defogger (106).
  12. The method to identify failure in the automobile glazing defogger as claimed in claim 10, wherein observing the non-clearance of fog by the primary defogger coil (102) indicates the non-working of the defogger (106).
  13. The method to identify failure in the automobile glazing defogger as claimed in claim 10, wherein observing the non-clearance of fog by all the primary defogger coil (102) indicates breakage in the power supply.
  14. The method to identify failure in the automobile glazing defogger as claimed in claim 10, wherein observing the non-clearance of fog by one of the primary defogger coil (102) indicates damage in defogger (106) associated with that particular primary defogger coil (102).
  15. An automobile glazing defogger control system (200), wherein the system (200) comprising: one or more portable devices (204); an automobile glazing defogger (106) as claimed in claim 1; and a controller (208) in communication with the portable devices (204) and the defogger (106), wherein the portable devices (204) configured to communicate with the defogger (106) via controller (208) allowing a user to switch on or off the defogger (106).
  16. The automobile glazing defogger control system (200) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the portable devices (204) is a handheld device, keyless entry remote, computer, mobile, laptop, tab, smartwatch or AR glasses.
  17. The automobile glazing defogger control system (200) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the portable devices (204) can be controlled by gestures, movements or voice commands.
  18. The automobile glazing defogger control system (200) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the portable devices (204) have a graphical user interface (212) for the user to trigger switching on or off of the defogger (106).
  19. The automobile glazing defogger control system (200) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the graphical user interface (212) provides authentication of the user.

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to an automobile glazing provided with a defogger and in particularly, to an automobile glazing with a quick and efficient defogging using a concentrated defogger coils Background Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed disclosure, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art. A defogger or a defroster is a system to clear condensation and frost from the automobile glazing such as windshield, back glass or side windows and provide best possible visibility around the motor vehicles for facilitating both the driver and the occupants. Defogger is a series of resistive conductors connected in parallel or series on the glass. When the power is applied, the conductors heat up, thawing ice and evaporating condensation from the glass. These conductors may be composed of a silver-ceramic material printed and baked onto the interior surface of the glass or maybe a series of very fine wires on the glass. A switch is provided on the dashboard which is pressed to switch on the defogger. The power is supplied to the defogger via physical wires that draw power from the battery of the car. The defogger can be either operated manually or automatically. The defogger conductor lines are fairly sensitive to physical damages. Sometimes cleaning the automobile glazing also damages defogger. Such damages can sweep away the metal of the conductor lines and interrupts the circuit, which, in turn, prevents the transmission of electricity to all areas of the glazing and results in the transmission of electricity to only a segment of the defogger. This is how defogging often fail in sections of the windshield, as one part of the defogger gets power and another gets cut off from the main circuit over time due to such physical damages. This leads to inefficient defogging of the automobile glazing. Conventionally, the simplest way to check the function of defogger is by a switch which lights up when the defogger is switched on showing that the power is been supplied to the defogger coil. The other conventional way is to check the defogger manually by a passenger or a driver using his hands by touch and feel or wait to see until the ice or the fog disappears. However, such conventional ways of checking do not work when the defogger is damaged due to breakage in conductor lines. Sometimes a visual inspection is used to detect obvious breakage in the defogger conductor lines. Besides the above-mentioned ways, there are systems available, which can inspect the breakage in defogger conductor lines more scientifically. Often, to easily inspect break in the conductor lines of a defogger, a test kit is available. The test kit comprises a test lamp with two wire ends. Once the exact point of breakage is found using such a test kit, a proper repair can be made to the defogger conductor lines. Indian Patent Application No. IN3185/MUM/2014 discloses a similar testing device for checking the working of defogger. The device comprises an 'L' shaped configuration having a positive terminal, a negative terminal and an indicator bulb. The positive terminal of defogger checking device is connected to the positive terminal near the right side connector of the windshield and the negative terminal of the defogger checking device is connected to any coil on the left side of the windshield. Whenever the bulb glows, this indicates the proper functioning of the defogger coil, whereas whenever the bulb is not glowing, this indicates the defect in the electrical circuit of the defogger coil. Despite such methods present for testing the continuity of defogger coil, these methods have many drawbacks. Firstly, such methods are time taking and cannot be performed quickly without human interventions. Secondly, the defogger inspection process needs a special working space and time, where and when you can check the working of the defogger. Lastly, the devices used for inspection of defogger comes with additional cost. EP 2 584 864 A1 discloses a heatable window. Hence, there is a need for the defogger checking mechanism that can overcome all the above-mentioned drawbacks. The present disclosure is to provide quick and efficient detection of working of defogger coil with the naked eye. Further, the present disclosure provides the detection of working of defogger coil in minimum time. Some other advantages are that the occupant can easily inspect with self-confidence whether the defogger coil is working. The present disclosure provides a testing mechanism which is integrated in the defogger coil, thereby eliminating the need for any separate device or workspace for detection. The occupant can detect the working of the defogger coil within a few minutes of switching on the defogger. In this case, it is desirable