CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 2. DESIGN 3. TECHNICAL DETAILS 4. TEST DATA 5. CONCLUSION 6. REFERENCES

ABST RACT

ABSTRACT
The aim is to design and develop a control system based an electronically controlled automotive rain operated motor is called A
R A I N O P E R A T E D W I P U E T R O M . A T I C

Rain opera e! "o or is consists of conduction sensor (Tough sensor) circuit, Control Unit, wiper motor and glass frame. The sensor is used to detect the rain or water flow. There is any rain on the class, the sensor senses the rain or flow water and giving the control signal to the wiper motor.

1. INTRODUCTION
We have pleasure in introducing our new project AUTOMATIC RAIN OPERATED WIPER, which is fully equipped by sensors circuit and wiper motor. It is a genuine project which is fully equipped and designed for Automobile vehicles. This forms an integral part of best quality. This product underwent strenuous test in our Automobile vehicles and it is good.

The Automatic rain operated wiper system is a fully automation project. This is an era of automation where it is broadly defined as replacement of manual effort by mechanical power in all degrees of automation. The operation remains an essential part of the system although with changing demands on physical input as the degree of mechanization is increased. egrees of automation are of two types! viz.

"ull automation. #emi automation.

In semi automation a combination of manual effort and mechanical power is required whereas in full automation human participation is very negligible

NEED FOR AUTOMATION: Automation can be achieved through computers, hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics, etc., of these sources, pneumatics form an attractive medium for low cost automation. Automation plays an important role in automobile. Nowadays almost all the automobile vehicle is being atomized in order to product the human being. The automobile vehicle is being atomized for the following reasons. To achieve high safety

To reduce man power To increase the efficiency of the vehicle To reduce the wor$ load To reduce the vehicle accident To reduce the fatigue of wor$ers To high responsibility %ess &aintenance cost

The major components of the Automatic rain operated wiper' are follows (onductive #ensor (lass frame and #upporting #tructure )attery Wiper &otor and its arrangement *elay

1.2. BASIC #RINCI#LE Many attempts have been made at constructing an effective, reliable, and cheap rain detection and wiper control system for vehicles. perfect system could subtract one more tas! from the driver"s wor!load, and allow them to better !eep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel during foul weather. #espite this, automatic rain$sensing wiper systems are relatively uncommon in modern vehicles for a number of reasons. They are often too e%pensive, too unsightly, or too

unreliable to be desired in new automobiles. &hile a number of different design approaches have been made to improve upon these issues, none have been successful enough for the technology to become widely adapted in new vehicles. 'y far the most common rain detection method is the use of an optical sensor. These optical sensors function by transmitting an infrared beam at an angle through the windshield and measuring the reflection to determine the presence of water. This is a relatively difficult tas!, re(uiring comple% circuitry and precision manufacturing. )ptical sensors are thus somewhat e%pensive and can produce false readings when dirt or other particles on the windshield cause a reflection mimic!ing that of rain. 'ecause it relies on an infrared beam for detection, the optical sensor also suffers from a very small sensing area on the windshield, limiting its effectiveness in rapidly responding to light rain. *n addition, the sensor housing is physically bul!y, reducing its appeal in lu%ury vehicles.

These issues can largely be mitigated by using a capacitive sensor rather than an optical one. *nstead of sending an infrared beam through the windshield glass, a capacitive sensor wor!s by emitting an electric field which can pass through the glass to interact with ob+ects resting on it. 'ecause water and other ob+ects such as dirt or roc!s interfere with the electric field in very different ways, the sensor will be less li!ely to be fooled if designed correctly. Unli!e a standard capacitor, which confines the electric field lines between two conductors in a tight pac!age, a capacitive sensor allows the field lines to spread out, and is designed to ma%imi,e the fringing of the electric field lines away from the conductors. These electric field lines are !nown as fringe fields-,

and are vital to the operation of a capacitive sensor. 'ecause they e%tend away from the conductors, which are typically +ust copper traces laid out flat on a printed circuit board (.C'), the fringe fields can be interacted with by other ob+ects. &hen conductive or dielectric ob+ects interfere with these fields, it changes the capacitance of the capacitive sensor, as seen in /igures 0 and 1. This change in capacitance can then be detected via circuitry and used to modulate an output signal. Capacitive sensors can detect the presence, position, and type of conductive or dielectric material interfering with their fringe fields. &hen multiple capacitive sensors are connected in an array, they can also be used to detect movement of a conductive or dielectric ob+ect.

The electric field is created by applying an alternating current ( C) voltage to one of the conductors forming the sensor traces. typical button sensor re(uires only two conductors, which never physically connect but are separated by a small distance and patterned into shapes. #epending on the application of the sensor, the sensor traces can ta!e on a variety of different si,es and patterns. The layout of the traces is often designed to ma%imi,e the fringing fields over a given area. The traces, along with the materials surrounding them, also form the base capacitance of the system, typically along the order of 1 2 13 pico$/arads (p/) in magnitude. 'ase capacitance should be minimi,ed when possible, as the change in capacitance resulting from fringe field interference is often less than 3.4 p/, and detection is easiest when the changing capacitance value is close to the base value.

The idea to use capacitive$sensing to detect rain on a windshield is not entirely new, as seen in United 5tates .atent U56378790, among others. :owever, technical limitations have largely prevented such designs from being commercially viable. &ith advances in modern integrated circuits over the past decade, however, this problem can now be avoided under the proper design. : TC* had previously been contracted with ;nterprise ;lectronics to design a capacitive sensor for this application, but development was halted. .<;:, located out of =ermany, have been able to create an accurate multifunction device which includes a capacitive rain sensor, but also includes other features such as temperature and humidity sensors. These e%tra features were deemed not necessary for :yundai vehicles, and the overall cost of the system was far too e%pensive to be a practical alternative to optical designs.

BLOC$ DIAGRA%&

SENSOR

BATTERY

CONTROL UNIT VEHICLE MIRROR WIPER MOTOR

RELAY

2. DESIGN WORKING OPERATION:

The battery supplies the power to the sensor as well as rain operated motor. Wiper motor is automatically +, during the time of rainfall. The senor is fi-ed in the vehicle glass. The conductive .Touch/ sensor is used in this project. It senses the rainfall and giving control signal to the control unit. The control unit activates the wiper motor automatically. This operation is called Automat ! "a # o$%"at%& ' $%"(

2.1. DESIGN S#ECIFICATIONS

*n designing the capacitive rain sensor, the following design specifications were provided by the sponsor> A' FUNCTIONALIT( #etect and report the presence of one drop of water placed on top of a 6mm thic! glass windshield above the sensor trace area B' ACCURAC( Must not falsely trigger the wipers when a hand is placed in pro%imity of the sensor trace area .rovide at least two different output signal levels depending on the amount of rain present on the windshield 'e shielded from the vehicle interior to avoid interference? only water on the windshield should activate the wipers, not ob+ects or circuits inside the vehicle Maintain all performance characteristics across the temperature range from @@ 2 013 degrees /ahrenheit C' CO%#ATIBILIT( #evice fits in e%isting :yundai optical rain sensor housing area (0143 mm 1) #evice mounts to interior of windshield via adhesive #evice can operate on vehicleAs 01 B power supply

2.2. FAST Dia)ra"

Utili,ed the / 5T #iagram shown above to help decompose the capacitive rain sensor system into its primary tas!s and components. The top branch describes the typical method of cleaning the windshield using a manual switch. The lower branch describes using an automatic rain$sensing system in which it is necessary to detect the rain. This is accomplished by monitoring the capacitive sensor, converting the change in capacitance to a corresponding change in voltage, and interpreting this changing voltage signal to determine wiper action.

2.3 CONCE#TUAL DESIGN DESCRI#TIONS

Unli!e some of the more open$ended pro+ects, : TC* provided #esign a specific solution to the problem of detecting rain on the windshield through the use of capacitive$sensing. The most critical component in the design was a circuit to monitor the capacitance of the sensor traces and modulate an output signal correspondingly. The conceptual design descriptions thus represent a number of different variations on this critical component.

2.3.1. DESIGN A CA#ACITI*E+SENSING CIRCUIT The first proposed design was to build a capacitive sensing circuit from basic components such as op$amps, comparators, and passive components. #ue to e%perience in analog circuitry, the team reali,ed that the capacitive sensor traces form a variable capacitor that changes as ob+ects interfere with the fringe fields. Many circuits e%ist that utili,e the time$constant principle of an <C circuit to produce an output waveform. n as table <C$multi vibrator circuit, produces a s(uare wave output with a fre(uency varying with respect to the capacitance of the sensor traces when they are used as the capacitor. This varying s(uare wave could then be interpreted by a microcontroller, and compared to !nown responses from rain to determine appropriate wiper action.

*t was determined that this circuit would not provide the high level of accuracy needed to determine the presence of minute amounts of rain through a 6$9 mm thic! glass windshield. Considering that the base capacitance (steady state) of the sensor traces was going to be around 4 2 04 p/, and that the changing capacitance from rain was e%pected to be between 3.0 2 3.4 p/, this would result in a change in a very small change in output fre(uency. This would be difficult to differentiate by a microcontroller and would also be highly prone to errors from noise. *n addition, designing a capacitive$sensing circuit, when highly accurate dedicated circuits were available on the mar!et, was a ris! that would not only lower the accuracy of our product but ta!e precious development time.

2.3.2. %ICROCONTROLLER CA#ACITI*E+SENSING %ODULES

Many recently released microcontrollers include specific hardware modules for capacitive sensing. /or e%ample, Cypress 5emiconductor has a popular Cap5;C5;- module, and Microchip has the appropriately named Capacitive 5ensing Module-. These modules were investigated as potential solutions to the capacitance sensing circuit. This method would simplify the system, as the microcontroller could perform two tas!s 2 monitoring the capacitive sensor traces, and processing the change in capacitance to determine wiper action. 5ince a microcontroller would still be needed for processing if a separate circuit were used to monitor the sensor traces, it would be convenient to have the microcontroller perform both tas!s. Unfortunately, these hardware modules are primarily designed for human touch applications, and it was determined that they would not possess the e%treme accuracy needed for the product, and offered by other, stand$alone circuits such as the nalog #evices #DD84. :uman touch applications are relatively easy wor! when compared to a rain sensing application, as the covering of the sensor traces is often only 0 2 1 mm thic! instead of the 6 2 9 mm of glass covering a standard windshield. /urthermore, the change in capacitance to a sensor from a human finger is much larger than a change in capacitance from a few raindrops. Thus, while the capacitive$sensing modules would be a very convenient solution to any human interface application, they don"t provide the accuracy needed for reliably detecting rain through a windshield.

2.3.3. ANALOG DE*ICES CA#ACITANCE+TO+DIGITAL CON*ERTER 5tand$alone integrated circuits often off better performance than integrated modules. nalog #evices" offers a series of highly regarded capacitance$to$digital

converters (C#Cs). These chips offer industry leading accuracy in a variety of different configurations for applications re(uiring only one sensor to ones re(uiring up to 08 sensors. table of all nalog #evices C#Cs is illustrated in Table 0. 5ince measuring only one sensor on the windshield, which can be thought of as a button sensor-, only one channel of conversion was re(uired. This narrowed our search down to either the channel C#Cs or the #D040E #D04@ low$power, 01$bit, one$ #DD84E #DD8D 18$bit, one$channel C#Cs. .ower

consumption was of little importance to the design, as it would be low regardless and the device would be running off of the vehicle"s power system. The #D040E4@ 01$bit C#Cs only cost appro%imately F0.D4 per, while the #DD84E8D cost closer to F8.43 per. :owever, the offer only 01$bits. #DD84E8D offer 18$bits of accuracy on #D040E4@ capacitance readings from the sensor, while the cheaper, low$power made to focus on the #DD84E8D C#Cs from nalog #evices. These circuits are designed for one channel of conversion, enabling one single$ended capacitive button sensor- or two differentially operated capacitive button sensors- to be monitored. The term button sensor- simply indicates that the capacitive sensor is ta!ing only one series of measurements over the single capacitor formed by the sensor traces. *t does not indicate that the sensor is to be usedas a human$interface button, although it potentially could be. *t is useful to use the term button sensor- to differentiate a single point calculation as opposed to a slider- or array of sensors, which are integrated together to perform analysis of moving ob+ects. 'oth the #DD84 and #DD8D operate on either @.D B or 4 B #C, and have a built in e%citation source generator, which is a @1 !:, s(uare wave with pea!$to$pea! amplitude e(ual to the operating voltage (Bdd). This e%citation source is connected to one conductor of the capacitive sensor traces, and the other

s performance was the most critical criteria, the decision was

conductor is tied to the Cin- pin. The primary difference between the and the #DD8D is that the traces, while the 'ecause the

#DD84

#DD84 is designed for floating capacitive sensor

#DD8D is designed for sensors in which one trace is grounded.

#DD8D"s sensor capacitance is between the e%citation conductor and

a grounded conductor, any e%traneous capacitance between the e%citation pin and ground will accumulate as a parasitic capacitance, ma!ing the base capacitance of the sensor appear larger than it should be. 5ince the capacitive sensor base capacitance is only between 4 2 04 p/, any additional parasitics can easily dominate the base capacitance of the system, leading to errors. lternatively, the #DD84 is designed for floating capacitive sensors, in which the Cin- conductor is not grounded but is instead floating. )nly capacitance formed between the Cintrace and the e%citation trace add to the base capacitance of the sensor? any capacitance to ground does not increase the effective capacitance of the sensor. .arasitics to ground can form very easily through shielded cables or on .C' layouts, so this ma!es the #DD84 design more robust. The decision was made #DD84, with the #DD8D early on to focus on implementing the design with the as an alternative if problems arose.

2.4. FEASIBILIT( %ATRI, The /easibility Matri% is a useful development tool allowing for (uic! comparison between a numbers of different design schemes based on weighted design factors. #esign Team 6 concluded that accuracy was the most important design factor, as the capacitive rain sensor would be useless if it could not accurately detect a change in capacitance caused by rain through a 6 2 9 mm glass

windshield. 'eyond this, cost was evaluated as the second most critical factor, as one of the primary pro+ect goals was to develop a sensor with an estimated production cost less than the current optical sensor. Through the /easibility Matri%, #esign Team 6 compared the three proposed designs and determined that the use of a stand$alone capacitance$to$digital converter from nalog #evices, the #DD84, would provide the best solution for a capacitance monitoring circuit.

2.5. #RO#OSED DESIGN SOLUTION

has developed an accurate and ine%pensive capacitive rain$sensing system utili,ing the bloc! diagram architecture shown in /igure 8. This device has four primary

components> a capacitance monitoring circuit, a microcontroller, a voltage regulator, and the sensor traces. These components are mounted on a stac! of two two$layer .C's which are neatly housed in a plastic enclosure and mounted to the interior of the windshield. The lower .C' contains the sensor traces, which adhere directly to the windshield, on one side and a wire connector on the other side. The upper .C' mounts appro%imately 0 cm above the lower and contains a protective ground shield on the bottom layer, and the surface$mount components and connectors on the top layer. The device layout is illustrated in /igure . The prototype to be displayed at #esign #ay contains the microcontroller in a separate housing to allow it to interface with a laptop, which will display the wiper operation and sensor data through a computer program. fully functioning wiper system for display purposes was not realistic, however, an actual :yundai windshield will be on display with the sensor mounted to it. .roduction$level prototypes will have the microcontroller on the windshield$mounted unit itself, and these circuits will be on display at #esign #ay to give viewers a better image of how the final product will loo!.

2.5.1. CA#ACITANCE %ONITORING CIRCUITR(& ANALOG DE*ICES AD--45

s described in sections 1.@.@ and 1.8, the

nalog #evices

#DD84 was

chosen as the capacitance monitoring circuit. The #DD84 interfaces with both the capacitive sensor traces and the .*C microcontroller processor. *ts primary role is to sample the changing capacitance of the sensor traces and output that data as a digital signal to the microcontroller for processing. The #DD84 communicates with the microcontroller via a two$wire *1C standardi,ed communication system. This is a MasterE5lave system with a Master$generated cloc! line and bidirectional data line. The #DD84 is powered by the 4 B #C output from the #.@@30 linear voltage regulator. *t produces a @1 !:,, 4 B s(uare wave e%citation signal to be routed to one of the sensGor traces, and the other sensor trace connects to the Cinpin. The #DD84 comes standard in a 06$pin surface$mount (T55).$06) pac!age. 2.5.2. %ICROCONTROLLER& %ICROCHI# #IC1.F452/0#IC16F1.26 microcontroller is necessary in the design to control the #DD84 and

process the incoming capacitance data. The .*C09/8413 was selected for use in the prototype display unit due to its free availability in the M5U ;C; 893 lab. /or production$level prototypes, the very similar but smaller .*C06/0916 will be used, as it contains only 09 pins as opposed to the 83 on the .*C09/8413.

The .*C09/E06/ is a popular and affordable 9$bit microcontroller which runs off a 4 B power supply and comes in a #*. or surface$mount pac!age. *t can be programmed using the C programming language to perform a wide variety of tas!s, and has @.4 !' of program memory. *n the capacitive rain sensor, the .*C

serves as the Master in the *1C communication system with the responsible for configuring the

#DD84. *t is

#DD84 into the correct operating state, polling it

for capacitive and other data, and interpreting that data by comparing it to !nown capacitance values gained through e%tensive testing of the device. *f the incoming capacitive data falls into a certain range over a certain number of samples, the .*C will output a signal instructing the wipers to engage. /urthermore, the .*C can differentiate between varying levels of rain to ad+ust the speed of the wipers, and prevent false positives by ignoring capacitance values outside the range of rain. 2.5.3. CA#ACITI*E SENSOR TRACES& CUSTO% DESIGN The capacitive sensor trace layout is critical to the performance of the capacitive sensor system. The shape and spacing of the two traces forming the capacitive sensor are directly related to the electric field lines produced when the e%citation voltage is applied. s the rain to be detected is present through 6 2 9 mm of glass, the sensor traces should be designed as to ma%imi,e the fringing fields away from the plane of the .C'. =lass has a relatively high dielectric constant of around 8.4, allowing easy transmission of electric fields through it. Conetheless, 6 2 9 mm is a very large distance away from the sensor traces to have to measure, as most capacitive touchscreens have an overlay thic!ness of only 0 2 1 mm. The software C)M5)H was used to model a variety of different sensor layout designs, where parameters such as trace patterns, conductor width, conductor spacing, and total sensor si,e could be ad+usted to find the perfect layout for the system. These parameters had a large impact on the total system capacitance, which had to be less than 06 p/ due to the range of the #DD84 C .# C, and the shape and strength of the fringe fields. Using C)M5)H, an e%act sensor trace pattern was decided upon, and empirical results mirrored that of the software"s predictions.

2.5.4. *OLTAGE REGULATOR& ANALOG DE*ICES AD#33/1+5 *n a vehicle, the typical battery voltage can range from 00 2 0@.4 B depending on the strength of the battery and the operating state of the vehicle and the alternator. 'oth the #DD84 and .*C microcontroller re(uire 4 B #C for nalog #evices #.@@30$4 is a linear voltage operation, so a reliable voltage regulator was re(uired to scale the vehicle power supply voltage to 4 B. The regulator which can accept up to 08 B of input voltage, and outputs a preset 4 B #C. *t can source up to 033 m of current, more than enough for the entire device. *t offers high linearity, a wide operating temperature range, and is available in a surface$mount pac!age. The #.@@30$4 re(uires a capacitor on the output pin of at least 3.8D u/ in magnitude for proper operation.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS 3.1. SENSOR TRACE DESIGN The capacitive sensor traces are formed by two copper conductors, closely spaced, laid out flat on a .C'. This .C' adheres directly to the interior of the windshield with the use of @M 869M. adhesive transfer tape. This tape is non$ conductive and has been recommended for similar applications (see <eference 6).

Capacitive measurements are ta!en over the sensor trace area on the windshield? therefore, only rain hitting this area will be detected. This still offers a larger detection area than the current optical system, however. 5ince the purpose of the sensor is to detect between rain, no rain, and other ob+ects on the windshield, no data is re(uired about the movement of the ob+ects, +ust the presence of them. This negates the need for a comple% trace layout such as a slider or a touch$pad, which are used to trac! movement, typically a human finger. Therefore, a single button sensor design forming one capacitor to be measured was used, re(uiring only the two traces mentioned previously. The layout of these traces can ta!e on a variety of different shapes and si,es. ;%amples of sensor trace layouts are illustrated

/or a button sensor with two conductors, the primary design variables to consider are the pattern of the two conductors, the width of the conductors, the spacing between the conductors, and the overall si,e of the sensor layout. ll of these have a substantial impact on the total capacitance of the system, as well as the distribution of fringe field lines. Typical patterns include concentric circles, parallel lines, or interweaving fingers-. The si,e of the sensor layout is chosen to match the system environment. *f the sensor is to detect a human finger touch, the overall si,e should be close to the si,e of a fingertip. /or the capacitive rain sensor,

the si,e was chosen to be as large as possible without e%tending beyond the si,e constraints provided by : TC*. #ue to the #DD84 C#C"s ability to only null out the base capacitance up to 06 p/, the si,e also had to be ad+usted so the sensor did not e%ceed that value. The spacing between the conductors is critical to the overall capacitance of the sensor, as well as the distribution of fringe field lines. continuous spacing of 3.14 $ 0 mm between conductors is common, as this typically provides a good combination of large fringing fields and small base capacitance. The thic!ness of the windshield overlay presented a considerable design challenge, and because of this the fringe fields too! primary concern. *f the fringe field lines did not e%tend all the way through the glass, the change in capacitance from any ob+ect on the windshield would be much smaller than if the lines did e%tend all the way. :owever, as the sensor traces move closer together in a design, the capacitance will increase, so a balance must be struc!. The ideal sensor trace layout for the capacitive rain sensor is the one that produces the farthest e%tending fringe fields and covers the largest area, while minimi,ing the sensor capacitance (ma%imum of 06 p/ due to #DD84). ssuming an effective sensor design, care must also be ta!en in the materials surrounding the trace area. The dielectric constant of a material, is a measure of the materialAs ability to transmit an electric field. :igher values of indicate a better transmission of electric fields. The dielectric constant of air is 0, standard /<8 .C' material is around 8, and glass is appro%imately 8.4 2 6. &indshield glass also contains a thin layer of plastic wedged between the two panes of glass, but results indicated that this had little effect on the system. 'ecause of airAs poor dielectric constant, no air gaps can be

present between the sensor trace area and the windshield, as any air gap would wea!en the field above it. 3.1.1. CO%SOL %ULTI#H(SICS C)M5)H Metaphysics is a power scientific tool that allows the use of visual environments to model and implement engineering problems. The software uses .artial #ifferential ;(uations (.#;s) to solve for complicated models. *t is basically a computer program that allows the modeling and simulation of a wide variety of physical phenomena. Technical problems relating to the field of> acoustics, electromagnetic, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, structural mechanics and M;Ms (Micro ;lectro Mechanical 5ystems) can be modeled and studied using a rich and interactive user environment.

;ven though the software allows modeling of comple% applications, it does not re(uire an in$depth !nowledge of numerical or mathematical analysis. *t is possible to build models by simply defining the physical parameters li!e area, length, width, flu%es, and constraints rather than defining the e(uations. )nce the parameters are defined and the sub$domain and boundary conditions are set, C)M5)H automatically compiles a set of .#;s to represent the entire model. #ue to the simple user interface and easy modeling, C)M5)H was chosen to model the capacitive sensor and observe the base capacitance before actually fabricating the .C' design. There was also a time constraint and the team did not have enough time to e%plore other alternatives.

nother reason the team opted to use C)M5)H was because of the availability of the software. .rior to using this software, the team had designed a capacitive sensor on ;agle .C' #esign to verify if the design wor!s. The sensor wor!ed surprisingly well for our first try but a more accurate design was needed as re(uired by our sponsor. That is why C)M5)H was used to design the capacitive sensor model and then compare various models to see which one is more accurate. couple of designs were laid out and the best one was chosen based on the C)M5)H results. *n the following, only four designs will be discussed to give an overview of how C)M5)H was used to optimi,e the design of the capacitive sensor.

3.2. ANALOG DE*ICES AD--45 CDC s described in section 1.4.0, the bit 5igma$#elta architecture to$digital converter in the #DD84 is the mediate between the #DD84 is a 18$

capacitive sensor traces and the microcontroller. The core of the directly to a corresponding digital signal.

#C which is modified to convert capacitance simplified diagram of this capacitance$

#DD84 can be seen in /igure 09, and a more detailed

circuit schematic of the 5igma$#elta C#C is displayed in /igures . t a high level, the 5igma$#elta C#C functions by balancing charge through two capacitors 2 the variable sensor capacitor, Csensor, and an internal reference capacitor. The capacitors are switched between a fi%ed input voltage to charge them, and then

discharge through an integrator. This can be thought of as a charge amplifier, as illustrated in /igure , which produces a voltage proportional to the total charge. s sensor increases, more charge is pumped into the integrator from that branch because> IJCKB &ith increasing sensor, the output of the integrator will grow larger. This is fed to a comparator to produce a series of ,eros and ones, which vary with the charge needed to balance the feedbac! loop. The feedbac! loop connects only to the reference capacitor, so as sensor increases, the output voltage increases, which is fed bac! to the reference side and increases the charging voltage of that capacitor to balance the two branches. The feedbac! signal is also fed through a third$order digital filter to produce the digital result which can then be output to a microcontroller for processing. The Bref(L) and Bref($) signals are reference voltage signals supplied by an internal temperature sensor to The #DD84 can measure up to LE$ 8.376 p/ changing capacitance, and outputs the result as a 18$bit digital signal. *t can, however, accept up to appro%imately 06 p/ of unchanging base capacitance from the sensor traces. This base capacitance can then be nulled to appro%imately 3 p/ using the on$board C .# C. The C .# C can be thought of as a programmable negative capacitance value which can be added to the Cinpin to null the base capacitance to around 3 p/. The #DD84 will then be able to measure the full range of LE$ 8.376 p/ of changing capacitance from there. *f one were not to use the C .# C, and had a base sensor capacitance value of well over 8.376 p/, the data output would be a constant reading of 8.376 p/- and the sensor would be useless.

The

#DD84 interfaces with the .*C microcontroller using the *1C #DD84 is the 5lave and the .*C the Master.

communication system, in which the

*1C stands for *nter$*ntegrated Circuit-, and is technically a multi$master serial single$ended computer bus. The Master can control multiple 5lave devices, although only one is used in this design. The *1C system contains only two wires, a cloc! line !nown as 5CH- and a data line !nown as 5# -. The lines are open$ drain type and re(uire pull$up resistors. The 5CH line is generated by the Master and used to synchroni,e the two devices, while the 5# 033 !:,. The #DD84 contains 07 eight$bit registers, many of which must be set to s line transmits data bit by bit bidirectional but is controlled by the Master. 5tandard operating fre(uency is

configure the C#C into the correct operating mode for the rain sensor system.

the .*C microcontroller is the Master, it is responsible for writing the correct he% codes into the registers. The .*C is programmed to perform an initiali,ation se(uence upon start$up. The #DD84 is first reset to clear any data or settings. The e%citation signal is then setup to be full strength of Bdd. Ce%t, the C .# C"s are set to null out the base capacitance of the system close to 3. The capacitive channel is setup to put it into single$ended mode at a sample update rate of 61 ms. the fter this, the temperature channel is setup to ta!e temperature measurements every 61 ms as well. /inally, #DD84 is placed into continuous conversion mode, where it will start producing 18$bit capacitive data readings appro%imately every 61 ms. The data is stored in three registers, each of eight$bits, and must be read se(uentially to ensure that no data corruption occurs. fter the initiali,ation se(uence is complete, the #DD84 to determine when a capacitive data .*C polls the status register of the

sample is available to be read. &hen the status register bit goes high, the .*C reads

from the three capacitive data registers se(uentially and stores the data for processing. Temperature data can be read in the same way. *f the initial starting temperature is below @1 degrees /ahrenheit, the system will shut off as the product is not intended to wor! in sub$free,ing conditions, as per the sponsor : TC*. 3.4. AD#33/1+5 *OLTAGE REGULATOR The capacitive rain sensor is designed to operate on a vehicle"s power supply, which can range from 00.4 2 0@.4 B #C depending on the strength of the battery and the current state of the vehicle and alternator. The .*C and #DD84 both operate on 4 B, so a voltage regulator was re(uired to regulate the changing vehicle voltage to a steady 4 B. *t also had to meet the current re(uirements of the two components. The #DD84 uses only 3.D m of current, while the .*C06/0916 uses appro%imately 4 2 03 m depending on its operation state. The nalog #evices #.@@30$4 is a fi%ed 4 B #C output, up to 08 B #C input, linear voltage regulator capable of supplying up to 033 m device. The of current, more than enough for the #.@@30$4 produces no high fre(uency switching noise to possibly

interfere with the sensor. *t comes in an 9$lead 5)*C surface$mount pac!age which is mounted close to the other components on the top layer of the upper .C'. bypass surface$mount capacitor of 3.8D u/ is present on the voltage input pin to increase voltage stability at the input. The #.@@30$4 re(uires a capacitor of at least 3.8D u/ on the output pin for proper operation, and an additional surface$ mount capacitor is mounted onto the .C' for this purpose. 3.5. #CB LA(OUT DESIGN MThe layout and geometry of the .C's were critical to the functionality of the sensor. *nitially, a four$layer .C' was considered, as this would reduce the comple%ity and cost of assembly of the device. *n this case, the bottom layer would

contain the sensor traces, the second layer would be empty, the third layer would contain a ground plane (ground shield), and the top layer would contain all surface$ mount components and connectors. This design was not pursued because of the worry that the four$layer .C' would not be fle%ible enough to curve to fit the geometry of the windshield, concerns that the ground shield would be too close to the sensor trace area, and the difficulty of layout out four component traces on only one layer.

*nstead of a four$layer .C', a two$layer design was used with the .C' cut into half and mounted vertically on top of each other with a spacing of 0 cm in between. The bottom .C' contains the sensor traces adhered directly to the interior of the windshield, and a connector on the top layer. The top .C' contains a ground shield on the bottom layer, and the surface$mount components and connectors on the top layer. The top .C' mounts above the bottom .C' by fitting into the small plastic enclosure which covers both devices. ;%press.C' offered the most ine%pensive prototype .C' production service. Using the Miniboardoption, fi%ed si,e @.9- % 1.4- .C's can be produced at three boards. ;%press.C' re(uires that their software, .C'Hayout, be used in designing the .C's. This software offers industry standard features and an intuitive user interface, so that layout out the board designs was very straightforward. .arts can be selected using the built$in part finder tool, which places the pad geometry of the selected part on the design. *f the part to be used is not in the catalog, a custom pad geometry can be constructed. The design includes a total of three integrated circuits, three

terminal bloc! connectors, and four passive components, all of which are surface$ mount. The sensor trace design also had to be placed onto the .C'. 'ecause the board was intended to be cut in half, the bottom .C' was placed on one side of the design, and the upper .C' on the other. 5ee ppendi% # for figures relating to the .C' layout.

4. TEST DATA 4.1. AD--46 E*ALUATION BOARD TESTING *n the early design stages of the pro+ect, once the decision to utili,e the #DD84 was made, an evaluation board for the rapid prototyping of sensor trace designs. The the #DD86, which is the e%act same as the #DD86 was ordered to allow for #DD86 evaluation board contains #DD84 e%cept for it allows for two

channels (two sensors) to be measured instead of one. The evaluation board contains built in circuitry to allow the board to connect directly to a laptop, and includes a C# with software to run a program allowing all data from the the input pins of the #DD86 to be displayed visually on the laptop. Capacitive sensor traces can be connected to #DD86 and performance can be +udged through use of the software program. This allows for easy and rapid testing of different sensor trace layouts to determine best performance.

#esign Team 6 utili,ed the M5U ;C; 5hop"s capabilities to construct simple two$ layer .C's for performance comparison between sensor designs. Using the C)M5)H software, sensor trace layouts were created and analy,ed. These were then transferred to a .C' layout using the software ; =H;. They were then provided to the ;C; shop, which produced small sensor trace .C's for use in testing, as seen in /igure . These test .C's were then connected to the evaluation board, and adhered to a small test piece of windshield glass. )b+ects could then be placed on the test piece of glass and the performance results, such as the change in capacitance, were displayed on the laptop. Using this process, the team was able to analy,e real$world performance compared to predicted performance in C)M5)H. The design predicted to wor! the best in C)M5)H also performed the best in testing, and this sensor trace design was chosen as the pro+ect moved forward and was used in the .C' layouts from ;%press.C'. 4.2. #IC I2C INTERF ACE 1 INITIALI2ATION TESTING )nce the sensor trace layout was decided upon, the ne%t step was to begin testing with the #DD84 and the .*C microcontroller without the evaluation board #DD84 present. This was done by using a standard protoboard with the .*C and programming and data transfer to a computer. 'ecause the mount it in the protoboard. n image of the protoboard used for testing purposes is shown in /igure 19. The #DD84 and .*C were connected as would be in the final design, as seen in ppendi% C, e%cept for the addition of the U5' and the schematic diagram in

mounted, and a serial and U5' connector hoo!ed up to the .*C to allow for #DD84 is a surface$ mount component, a T55).$to$#*. adapter was re(uired to be able to be able to

5erial$port connectors to the protoboard, which interface with the .*C

microcontroller. The prototype sensor trace .C' was connected to the could be produced. 'efore the .*C could communicate with the

#DD84

using short cables, and adhered to the test piece of glass so that meaningful data

#DD84, the *1C

communication system had to be integrated into the programming of the .*C. The software used to program the .*C was Microchip"s M.Hab *#;. The .*C can be programmed using C code, which can be entered into the computer running the M.Hab *#; software, and then transferred to the .*C using the *C#1 debuggerEprogrammer which connects to the .*C using a U5' interface mounted on the protoboard. The M.Hab *#; software library includes a .h- code file containing all of the standard *1C communication commands, such as 5tart-, 5top-, c!-, Cot c!-, *dle-, etc. Using these commands, the initiali,ation se(uence described in section @.1 was built in C code and programmed into the .*C. The purpose of this initial testing se(uence was to determine if the *1C communication system was functioning correctly, and the data values were in fact being written to the #DD84"s registers. *nitially, the system did not wor!. This was determined by writing a he% value to a register, and then reading the value of the register. *f they did not match, then the communication failed. The problem was determined to be with the 55. ##- register value of the .*C, which determines the fre(uency the *1C communication line. The system is designed to operate at a standard fre(uency of 033 !:,. This fre(uency is determined by the he% value written to the 55. ## register. This register counts down from the programmed he% value twice for every cycle, and so is dependent on the cloc! fre(uency of the .*C. The datasheet of the .*C had an incorrect formula for determining the value othe 55. ##. )nce this problem was corrected, the *1C communication system wor!ed flawlessly.

4.3. FINAL #ROTOT(#E TESTING )nce all the wor!ing code and Bisual 'asic program was complete, the .C' layout was ordered from ;%press.C'. Three identical .C's were received, although one had some of the component pads soldered together and had to be scrapped. The other two were cut into their respective si,es using a fine$tooth saw. The surface$mount components were then soldered onto the boards, and wires fit into the terminal bloc!s connecting the upper .C' to the lower, and the upper .C' to the blac! bo%- containing the .*C09/8413 and laptop$interface e(uipment. The lower .C' was adhered to the test windshield using the 869$M. adhesive. plastic enclosure from <adio5hac! was placed around the lower .C', and the upper .C' could then be placed in the plastic enclosure to rest about 0 cm above the lower. 'ecause of the new .C' layout and device structure, the capacitance change for each rain sensor setting would change by a small amount. #ue to this, new data points had to be ta!en to program into the .*C for accurate operation. 'etween 43 2 033 data test points were ta!en for each rain sensor setting for the final prototypes. complete compilation of test data can be found in ppendi% #.

<esults indicated that the system was wor!ing precisely as designed. The sensor had no difficulty determining rain on the windshield, and could very reliably differentiate between the different rain sensor settings. The Bisual 'asic program wor!ed flawlessly, displaying moving wipers in response to different stimuli on the windshield.

ADVANTAGES

%ow cost automation project. "ree from wear adjustment. %ess power consumption +perating 0rinciple is very easy. Installation is simplified very much. To avoid other burnable interactions viz.1 . iaphragm/ is not used. It is possible to operate &anually2automatically by proving +n2+ff switch. #ensor cost is very low due to conductive sensor

APPLICATIONS

"our wheeler application

DISADVANTAGES

3. This system applied in the case of water falling on the class only. 4. Addition cost is required to install this system to four wheeler.

5. CONCLUSION #esign and developed an accurate and cost$effective capacitive rain operated utomatic wiper system, improving on nearly all of the faults of the current optical sensor. Testing confirms that it can accurately detect varying levels of rain through a 6 mm thic! vehicle windshield, and uses this data to turn the wipers to three different settings depending on the amount of rain present on the windshield. /urthermore the sensor can differentiate between rain and other ob+ects, such as leaves and human hands, that a placed above the sensor, thus preventing false positives and inappropriate wiper operation. The entiproduction$level unit is self contained in a compact plastic enclosure mounting near the rear view mirror. This enclosure is smaller than the optical sensor unit, yet still provides a substantially larger sensing area for better detection of sparse rain. The system contains only three integrated circuits anfour passive components, thus allowing for efficient assembly, low comple%ity, and easy repair. 5light refinements will be needed to incorporate the capacitive rain sensor into an actual vehicle, as the control signals to be sent to the vehicleAs 'CM are not implemented at this time, as this was not a sponsor re(uirement. :owever, these control signals can be easily generated by the on$board .*C microcontroller and output to the 'CM, and should re(uire little additional design effort.

6. REFERENCES Hee, Mar!. Cypress 5emiconductor Corp. NThe 5ensing 'rychta, Michael. NMeasure Capacitive 5ensors &ith Modulator. /airchild 5emiconductor. NMCD9OOEHMD9OOEMCD9OO .ositive Boltage <egulator. @$Terminal 0 5igma$#elta rt of Capacitive Touch