The US Patent Office published Teslas insane laser windshield wipers.
Key Highlights
- The United States Patent Office has formally published Tesla's insane windshield wiper concept, which uses a laser beam to clear debris from the driver's line of sight, has been formally published.
- Tesla filed the patent application in May 2019 and it was awarded in late 2021.
- The patent has now been made public by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- Although it is not confirmed or known what Tesla's plans are for the laser windshield wipers, images contained inside the patent appear to depict a Model S body.
- Tesla's flowchart illustrating the patent procedure is quite straightforward and also demonstrates how the invention may be used to clean debris from solar panels.
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The United States Patent Office has formally published Tesla's insane windshield wiper concept, which uses a laser beam to clear debris from the driver's line of sight, has been formally published. Tesla filed the patent application in May 2019 and it was awarded in late 2021. The patent has now been made public by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Tesla has long been intrigued by some outlandish and groundbreaking automotive concepts. Tesla has experimented with a variety of different windshield wiper designs and ideas over the years, ranging from a single-wiper system for the Next-Gen Roadster that would utilise an electromagnetic linear actuator to remove moisture from the windshield to no wipers at all when it unveiled the Cybertruck in November 2019. Tesla's Cybertruck has been seen recently with wipers, but the company is still working on the design.
With all of the outlandish ideas Tesla has floated for wipers in the past, the automaker's patent for "Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies" is one of the most intriguing. Originally filed in May 2019, Tesla recently had the invention published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which means that even if the office does not award the patent, the public can still benefit from the work and possibly build another system that is granted.
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Tesla defines the invention in the newly disclosed filing as follows:
A cleaning system for a vehicle includes a beam optics assembly that emits a laser beam to irradiate a region on a glass article of the vehicle, debris detection circuitry that detects debris accumulated over the region, and control circuitry. The control circuitry calibrates a set of parameters associated with the laser beam emitted from the beam optics assembly based on detection of the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article, controls an exposure level of the laser beam on the debris accumulated based on calibration of the set of parameters associated with the laser beam, wherein the exposure level is controlled based on pulsing the laser beam at a calibrated rate that limits penetration of the laser beam to a depth that is less than a thickness of the glass article and removes the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article using the laser beam.”
Although it is not confirmed or known what Tesla's plans are for the laser windshield wipers, images contained inside the patent appear to depict a Model S body. Tesla may be willing to test this kind of device on some of its cars, but the company hasn't said what it plans to do with it.
Credit: US Patent Office
Tesla's flowchart illustrating the patent procedure is quite straightforward and also demonstrates how the invention may be used to clean debris from solar panels. The patent outlines the laser cleaning assembly's operation in five steps:
- Detect an accumulation of debris on a region of a glass article fitted in the vehicle.
- Calculate a set of parameters associated with the laser beam emitted by the beam optics assembly based on the detection of debris accumulated on a portion of the glass object.
- Control the amount of time the laser beam is exposed to debris on a piece of glass based on how well a set of laser beam parameters were set up.
- A laser beam can be used to irradiate the area around the glass piece where the debris was found.
- By using a laser beam, detectable debris is removed from the area.
It also does not appear to be operated by the vehicle. A driver could use a touchscreen, a joystick, or another device to control the laser and the cleaning machine's many parts. Tesla says this is possible.
While it may seem like an absurd and potentially humorous notion, using a laser to clear a windshield would not be outside Tesla's sphere of possibility. After all, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously stated that the Roadster will fly owing to SpaceX's cold gas thrusters, and Tesla has filed a patent for the Cybertruck, which will feature solar panels on its tonneau to extend the range of the electric vehicle, among other wacky ideas. However, if Tesla uses the new laser patent, it will only make the already low maintenance costs of electric cars even lower. Annual maintenance costs on EVs are already very low.
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Read the patent: