Patent Publication Number: US-2021179252-A1

Title: Programmable pattern-based sweep mechanism for aircraft windscreen wiper system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Indian Application No. 201911051318 filed Dec. 11, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The following description relates to windscreen wiper systems (WWSs) and, more specifically, to a programmable pattern-based sweep mechanism for a WWS of an aircraft. 
     A WWS of an aircraft can be installed on both pilot and co-pilot sides of a windscreen. Generally, a WWS of an aircraft is operated during taxiing, takeoff, climb, approach and landing phases of flights. The prime objective of the WWS is to keep the windscreen clean from the accumulation of water, ice, dust or other debris. To this end, a WWS typically includes wiper arms, wiper blades supported on the wiper arms to be biased toward the windscreen and a driving and control system that either parks the wiper arms and wiper blades in parked positions or causes the wiper arms to move the wiper blades back and forth across the windscreen in a wiping or cleaning motion. 
     In greater detail, a WWS of an aircraft is normally a mechanical system that offers fixed modes of wiper operation and fixed speeds of operation to meet the objective. The wiper blades clean the windscreen by sweeping back and forth in outward and inward directions so that the windscreen is cleaned. A typical sweep refers to the movement of a wiper blade in outward-inward-outward or inward-outward-inward direction based on the park position. Usually, a WWS of an aircraft is designed to operate at fixed speeds (sweeps per minute) that can be identified as low, intermittent and high speeds and the pilot and co-pilot are able to operate it independently and synchronously. When the pilot and co-pilot operate wipers at the same time, both (pilot and co-pilot) side wipers can be synchronized to avoid distractions. In some cases, a wash system can be included in a WWS as well. The wash system sprays washer fluid onto the windscreen to facilitate cleaning and is normally a common system for both the pilot and the co-pilot. 
     Since, in current WWSs, wiper arms and wiper blades are only selectable to operate at fixed speeds and only in one of the wiper modes, in cases of special or particularly acute situations, such as heavy dirt, bird remains, heavy ice on glass, etc., the wiper blades and the wiper arms may not be able to clean the windscreen properly or might get stuck in the middle of the windscreen due to an inability of the system to clean the debris completely. Currently, such scenarios are handled by crew members through manual switching of the WWS wiper to “off” as there are no robust mechanisms to keep critical areas of the windscreen clean so that the outside view is not obscured for the crew members. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     According to an aspect of the disclosure, a windscreen wiper system (WWS) architecture is provided. The WWS architecture includes a wiper assembly and an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to control operations of the wiper assembly. The ECU is configured to recognize that a command to engage a predefined wiper mode is received. The predefined wiper mode is characterized in that a windscreen is divided into sectors and the wiper assembly is controllably operated to sweep across one or more of the sectors in a predefined pattern with a predefined sweep speed. The ECU is further configured to control the wiper assembly to operate in the predefined wiper mode according to the command being received. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the WWS architecture further includes a cockpit input/output (I/O) unit configured to be receptive of the command, an avionics bus by which the cockpit I/O unit is coupled to the WWS and one or more of a wash system, a parallel WWS and avionics systems coupled to the WWS and the cockpit I/O unit via the avionics bus. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the cockpit I/O unit includes a pilot/co-pilot interface and the pilot/co-pilot interface includes one or more of a voice command interface, a tactile command interface and a touchscreen. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the WWS architecture further includes a sensor system to sense a condition of the windscreen, which is coupled to the cockpit I/O unit, and the command is automatically generated by the sensor system according to a sensing result and the sensor system includes at least one of an optic sensor, a torque sensor, a temperature sensor and a current sensor. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined wiper mode includes a windscreen deep clean mode. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined wiper mode is one or more of re-configurable in real-time and re-configurable based on pilot/co-pilot identification information. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, a critical area of the windscreen is divided into the sectors and the sectors are of equal or unequal angles. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined pattern and the predefined sweep speed are predefined for each of the sectors. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, activation of the predefined pattern and the predefined sweep speed is selectable for each of the sectors. 
     According to an aspect of the disclosure, a windscreen wiper system (WWS) architecture is provided. The WWS architecture includes a WWS including a wiper assembly and an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to control operations of the wiper assembly and a cockpit input/output (I/O) unit coupled to the ECU and configured to be receptive of a command to engage a predefined wiper mode. The predefined wiper mode is characterized in that a windscreen is divided into sectors and the wiper assembly is controllably operated to sweep across one or more of the sectors in a predefined pattern with a predefined sweep speed. The ECU is configured to recognize that the command is received by the cockpit I/O unit and to control the wiper assembly to operate in the predefined wiper mode accordingly. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the WWS architecture further includes an avionics bus by which the cockpit I/O unit is coupled to the WWS and one or more of a wash system, a parallel WWS and avionics systems coupled to the WWS and the cockpit I/O unit via the avionics bus. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the cockpit I/O unit includes a pilot/co-pilot interface and the pilot/co-pilot interface includes one or more of a voice command interface, a tactile command interface and a touchscreen. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the WWS architecture further includes a sensor system to sense a condition of the windscreen, which is coupled to the cockpit I/O unit, and the command is automatically generated by the sensor system according to a sensing result and the sensor system includes at least one of an optic sensor, a torque sensor, a temperature sensor and a current sensor. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined wiper mode includes a windscreen deep clean mode. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined wiper mode is one or more of re-configurable in real-time and re-configurable based on pilot/co-pilot identification information. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, a critical area of the windscreen is divided into the sectors and the sectors are of equal or unequal angles. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the predefined pattern and the predefined sweep speed are predefined for each of the sectors. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, activation of the predefined pattern and the predefined sweep speed is selectable for each of the sectors. 
     According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating a windscreen wiper system (WWS) architecture is provided. The method includes recognizing that a command to engage a predefined wiper mode is received, reading current configuration information of the predefined wiper mode upon recognizing that the command is received, the current configuration information including a division of a windscreen into sectors and instructions to controllably operate a wiper assembly to sweep across one or more of the sectors in a predefined pattern with a predefined sweep speed, and controllably operating the wiper assembly to sweep across one or more of the sectors in the predefined pattern with the predefined sweep speed. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the method further includes deactivating the predefined wiper mode upon receipt of a command to engage alternative wiper modes. 
     These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter, which is regarded as the disclosure, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the disclosure are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of external components of a WWS in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of components of a WWS in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of components of a WWS in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a WWS architecture in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of pilot and co-pilot interface panels in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of pilot and co-pilot interface panels in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic illustration of components of the WWS architecture of  FIG. 4  in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 8  is an illustration of a division of a windscreen into sectors in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram of pilot and co-pilot interface panels in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 10  is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a WWS architecture in accordance with embodiments; and 
         FIG. 11  is a flow diagram illustrating a method of executing a predefined wiper mode in accordance with embodiments. 
     
    
    
     These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be described below, a WWS is provided and includes a programmatically controlled pattern-based sweep mechanism. A windscreen is divided into multiple small regions (or sectors), the sectors are defined and a pattern or sequence based on the defined sectors is programmed to clean the windscreen. The WWS also includes systems and methods for manually activating and deactivating a wiper mode characterized as being associated with the programmed pattern or sequence (i.e., a deep clean mode or another similar type of mode) from the cockpit or by way of interconnected avionics systems. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a typical WWS  101  is provided for use with an airframe  110 , such as an airframe of a vehicle or an aircraft. The airframe  110  is supportive of a windscreen  111 . The WWS  101  includes a wiper blade assembly  120  and an internal control assembly to be described in greater detail below. The wiper blade assembly  120  includes a wiper arm  121  and a wiper blade  122 . The wiper blade  122  is attached to a distal end of the wiper arm  121  and is biased toward and onto the windscreen  111  by the wiper arm  121 . The wiper blade assembly  120  is configured to assume a parked position relative to the windscreen  111  unless a pilot/copilot command (or an automatically generated command) is entered to initiate a driving of the wiper blade assembly  120  whereby the wiper blade  122  moves across the windscreen  111  along a sweep angle α 1  in forward and reverse directions (i.e., inward-outward-inward or outward-inward-outward) from the parked position. The internal control assembly is configured to drive the wiper blade assembly  120  across the windscreen  111  along the sweep angle α 1  such that the wiper blade element moves across the windscreen  111  to remove moisture or foreign object debris from the windscreen  111 . 
     The typical WWS of  FIG. 1  includes an electronic control unit (ECU), a motor drive, a brushless motor, a gearbox/converter, a wiper arm, a wiper blade and a spray bar. High-level architectures of these components are illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3  (in  FIG. 2 , separate ECUs are implemented on both pilot and co-pilot wiper systems and, in  FIG. 3 , a common ECU is shared between pilot and co-pilot wiper systems). In each case, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , various avionics systems in an aircraft communicate via a secured aircraft avionics bus. The aircraft avionics bus could be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. The pilot and co-pilot side WWSs are connected to the aircraft avionics bus whereby data (e.g., wiper synchronization data, wash control data, wash fluid level status data, etc.) and inputs (e.g., wiper mode selection inputs, wiping speed inputs, wash control inputs, etc.) are communicated between WWSs and other connected systems. In the embodiments of  FIG. 1 , pilot and co-pilot WWSs have similar hardware and substantially identical software with wiper blade position/location identified through hardware pin-programming. In the embodiments of  FIG. 2 , a dedicated communication bus for intercommunication between pilot and co-pilot WWSs is implemented as a wired or wireless communication interface. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , a windscreen wiper system (WWS) architecture  401  is provided and includes a WWS  410 , which can be similar to the WWS  101  of  FIG. 1  except as described herein, and a cockpit input/output (I/O) unit  420 . The WWS  410  includes a wiper assembly  411 , which in turn includes wiper arms, wiper blades and one or more spray bars, an electronic control unit (ECU)  412 , a motor drive  413 , a brushless motor  414 , a gearbox/converter  415  and first, second and third sensors  416 . The ECU  412  is configured to control operations of the wiper assembly  411  by way of the motor drive  413 , the brushless motor  414  and the gearbox/converter  415  in accordance with readings of the first, second and third sensors  416 . The cockpit I/O unit  420  is coupled to the ECU  412  and is configured to be receptive of a command to engage a predefined wiper mode. The predefined wiper mode is characterized in that a windscreen, such as the windscreen  111  of  FIG. 1 , is divided into sectors as will be described in greater detail below and is further characterized in that the wiper assembly  411  is controllably operated by the ECU  412  to sweep across one or more of the sectors in a predefined pattern with a predefined sweep speed. The ECU  412  is configured to recognize that the command is received by the cockpit I/O unit  420  and to control the wiper assembly  411  to operate in the predefined wiper mode accordingly. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the WWS architecture  401  further includes an avionics bus  430  by which the cockpit I/O unit  420  is coupled to the WWS  410  and one or more of a wash system  440  that is configured to spray washer fluid on the windscreen, a parallel WWS  450  (the WWS  410  and the parallel WWS  450  can be configured similarly as shown in  FIG. 2  or  FIG. 3 ) and avionics systems  460 . The one more of the wash system  440 , the parallel WWS  450  and the avionics systems  460  can be coupled to the WWS  410  and the cockpit I/O unit  420  via the avionics bus  430 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the cockpit I/O unit  420  of the WWS architecture  401  of  FIG. 4  can include an analog pilot interface  510  (see  FIG. 5 ) or a pilot graphical user interface (GUI)  610  (see  FIG. 6 ), an analog co-pilot interface  520  (see  FIG. 5 ) or a co-pilot GUI  620  (see  FIG. 6 ) and a common analog wiper mode interface  530  (see  FIG. 5 ) or a common GUI  630  (see  FIG. 6 ). The analog pilot interface  510  can be provided as a pilot input panel  511  and can include a wiping speed portion with a manual rotary selection switch  512  or a first microphone element  513  and a wash portion with a manual push button  514  or a second microphone element  515 . The pilot GUI interface  610  can be provided as a pilot input panel  611  and can include a wiping speed portion with a GUI button  612  or a first microphone element  613  and a wash portion with a GUI button  614  or a second microphone element  615 . The analog co-pilot interface  520  and the co-pilot GUI  620  can be configured similarly. The common analog wiper mode interface  530  can be provided as a common panel  531  and can include a manual rotary selection switch  532  that allows for a selection of the predefined wiper mode or independent or dual operational modes or a third microphone element  533 . The common GUI  630  can be configured similarly. Thus, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the cockpit I/O unit  420  can be provided as one or more of a voice command interface (i.e., by way of the microphone elements) and a tactile command interface (i.e., by way of the analog and GUI switches and buttons). 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the ECU  412  of the WWS  410  of  FIG. 4  can include or be provided as a micro-controller or central processing unit and can include a computing unit  710 , a database  720  to store the information of the predefined wiper mode, a signal conditioning unit  730  and a communication interface  740 , which is disposed in signal communication with the avionics bus  430 . The computing unit  710  is configured to issue motor drive commands per a determined drive pattern (i.e., the predefined wiper mode) being engaged to the wiper assembly  411  along with other wiper function commands based on feedback data received by the computing unit  710  from the signal conditioning unit  730 . The signal conditioning unit  730  is configured to receive sensor feedback by which the feedback data is generated. 
     With reference back to  FIG. 4 , the WWS architecture  401  can further include a sensor system  470 . The sensor system  470  can be configured to sense a condition of the windscreen (i.e., the windscreen  111  of  FIG. 1 ) and is coupled to the cockpit I/O unit  420 . Here, the sensor system  470  can be configured to automatically generate the command to engage the predefined wiper mode according to a result of the sensing of the condition of the windscreen. That is, in an event that a pilot or co-pilot&#39;s view through the windscreen is found to be blocked by the sensor system  470 , the sensor system  470  can automatically generate the command even if the pilot or the co-pilot do not input the command themselves. In accordance with embodiments, the sensor system  470  can include at least one of an optic sensor O, a torque sensor T, a temperature sensor TEMP and a current sensor C to sense the condition of the windscreen. 
     With reference to  FIG. 8 , the predefined wiper mode can include, but is not limited to, a deep clean mode for a windscreen. Also, it is the critical area of the windscreen that is divided into the sectors (see, e.g., sectors 1-7 of  FIG. 8 ) for the predefined wiper mode and the sectors can be defined as angular sectors of the windscreen (i.e., the critical area of the windscreen) that can be sized equally or uniformly or that can be sized unequally. As used herein, the critical area of the windscreen refers to the area of the windscreen that a pilot/co-pilot predominantly looks through during most flight operations. In addition, the predefined pattern and the predefined sweep speed can be predefined similarly or different for each of the sectors. That is, the predefined wiper mode can be configured such that the wiper assembly  411  passes quickly over sectors 1, 2, 6 and 7 but oscillates more quickly over sectors 3, 4 and 5. 
     In accordance with embodiments, a method of dividing the critical area of a windscreen into multiple sectors can be defined by equation 1 as follows (again, the sectors can be but need not be of equal angles). 
     Equation 1: Dividing Critical Area into Multiple Sectors 
       θ s −θ e =θ′ s −θ′ e =Σ k=1   n δ k  
         where, θs=θ′ s =Start angle of the critical area   θ e =θ′ e =End angle of the critical area   δ=Sector angle   n=Number of sectors       

     In  FIG. 8 , the critical areas in pilot and co-pilot windscreens are represented by the regions θ ps θ pe θ′ pe θ′ ps  and θ cps θ cpe θ′ cpe θ′ cps  respectively. The critical area of co-pilot windscreen θ cps θ cpe θ′ cpe θ′ cps  is divided into multiple sectors (sector 1 through sector 7) represented by δ 1 , δ 2 , δ 3 , δ 4 , δ 5 , δ 6 , δ 7  respectively such that, 
       θ cps −θ cpe =δ 1 +δ 2 +δ 3 +δ 4 +δ 5 +δ 6 +δ 7  
 
     The sector details are derived from the specification of the platform in which the wiper systems are installed and the details are at least initially programmed/stored in persistent memory of the database  720  at the factory. 
     As an example, the following table 1 illustrates the contents of a predefined wiper mode configuration in accordance with embodiments. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Pattern → 
                 Sector ID 
                 Sector ID 
                 . . . 
                 Sector ID 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Sector Definition →  
                 ID 
                 Start angle 
                 End angle 
                 Wipe cycles 
                 Wipe speed 
                 Wash control 
               
               
                 Limits → 
                 &lt;#&gt; 
                 &lt;#&gt; 
                 &lt;#&gt; 
                 &lt;#&gt; 
                 Low 
                 On 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 intermittent 
                 Off 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 High 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 &lt;#&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The predefined wiper mode configuration of table 1 includes definitions of sectors and the predefined pattern (sequence of execution of sectors) to clean the windscreen. 
     As shown in table 1, the “Pattern” row includes a series of sector identifiers which defines the order of cleaning of sectors in the critical area. For example, if the critical area is divided into 5 sectors (identified by sector identifiers: #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5), the pattern of #5, #2, #4, #1, #3 defines that the sector #5 is cleaned first followed by sector #2, sector #4, sector #1 and sector #3. The “Sector definition” row includes wiper system parameters for each of the sectors. The sector definition includes, but is not limited to, sector identifier, start angle (in degree or absolute position in the windscreen), end angle (in degree or absolute position in the windscreen), number of wipe cycles, wipe speed (LOW or INTERMITTENT or HIGH or any arbitrary wiper speed represented in wipes per second), and wash control (ON or OFF). 
     As another example, the following table 2 illustrates an example of a predefined wiper mode configuration in which a critical section from 45° to 65° in the windscreen is split into three sectors of varying angle sizes. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Pattern → 
                 #3 
                 #1 
                 #2 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 ID 
                 Start angle 
                 End angle 
                 Wipe cycles 
                 Wipe speed 
                 Wash control 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Sector Definitions →  
                 #1 
                 45 
                 50 
                 10 
                 LOW 
                 ON 
               
               
                   
                 #2 
                 50 
                 60 
                 15 
                 HIGH 
                 ON 
               
               
                   
                 #3 
                 60 
                 65 
                 10 
                 120 
                 ON 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In any case, with reference back to  FIG. 7 , the information of the predefined wiper mode can be one or more of re-configurable in real-time and re-configurable based on pilot/co-pilot identification information. In the former case, especially where the WWS architecture  401  includes the sensor system  470 , the computing unit  710  can be configured to modify or adjust an aspect of the predefined wiper mode to account for changes in the condition of the windscreen. For example, while a predefined wiper mode might provide for a deep cleaning operation of each of the sectors of the windscreen equally, the computing unit  710  can adjust the divisions of the windscreen into alternative sectors and the predefined pattern to concentrate the deep cleaning on a particular location. In the latter case, it is to be understood that different pilots/co-pilots with different body types have different critical areas of windscreens. Here, the pilot/co-pilot information can associate pilot/co-pilot identification information with their body type information so that a critical area of the windscreen for each individual pilot/co-pilot can be uniquely addressed by the predefined wiper mode. In such cases, the predefined wiper mode modifications and adjustments can be made prior to take-off when each pilot/co-pilot assumes their respective commands. 
     With reference to  FIG. 9  and, in accordance with further embodiments, the WWS architecture  401  can provide for a capability for the pilot/co-pilot to manually select a particular sector for cleaning through a touch-enabled input panel/device  901  in the cockpit. This selective manual activation of the predefined wiper mode or a portion thereof (i.e., selective manual activation of deep cleaning capability) can be used in addition to automatic sensing by the sensor system  470 . In accordance with alternative embodiments, the touch-enabled input panel/device  901  (or the other interfaces and GUIs described herein) could be provided as an application that is executable on a portable electronic device (PED), a smartphone, a tablet, a multi-function display, etc. In any case, the touch-enabled input panel/device  901  can be provided as a “touch display” or “touchscreen.” 
     Where the touch-enabled input panel/device  901  is provided, the sectors belonging to pilot and co-pilot portions of the windscreen are displayed to the pilot/co-pilot whereupon the pilot/co-pilot selects the sector that needs to be cleaned by touching the corresponding sector in the touch-enabled input panel/display  901 . Once the selection is made, the pilot/co-pilot selects a “start” push button  902  so that the predefined wiper mode or deep clean for the selected sector is initiated. The push button  902  toggles to “stop,” which provides a mechanism for the pilot/co-pilot to stop the current ongoing selective manual deep clean operation. 
     The touch-enabled input panel/display  901  could be installed separately (as two touch displays) for the pilot and the co-pilot or can be a common touch display for the pilot and the co-pilot to operate. That is, the start/stop push button and any other feature(s) of the touch-enabled input panel/display can be provided as dedicated and/or independent features for both the pilot and the copilot. Thus, as with the other embodiments discussed herein, the pilot and the copilot can each operate the predefined wiper mode or deep clean independently for their respective windscreens or in concert. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , a method of operating WWS architecture  401  is provided. The method includes a power-up operation  1001 , a subsequent monitoring of a wiper mode command  1002  and recognizing that a command to engage independent or dual (i.e., alternative) wiper modes or a predefined wiper mode is received  1003 . At this point, in an event the independent or dual wiper mode commands are received, the predefined wiper mode is deactivated  1004  and the independent or dual wiper mode operations are performed  1005 . Control then reverts back to the monitoring of the wiper mode command  1002 . In an event the command to engage the predefined wiper mode is received, a determination as to whether the predefined wiper mode is already engaged is made  1006 . If so, control proceeds to A. if not, the predefined wiper mode is activated  1007 , current configuration information of the predefined wiper mode is read  1008  and control proceeds to A. As noted above, the current configuration information can include a division of a windscreen into sectors and instructions to controllably operate a wiper assembly to sweep across one or more of the sectors in a predefined pattern with a predefined sweep speed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , with control proceeding to A, the method includes controllably operating the wiper assembly to sweep across one or more of the sectors in the predefined pattern with the predefined sweep speed  1009 . In accordance with embodiments, this can, but is not required to, include beginning with a first sector in the sequence  1101 , subsequently reading configuration parameters for the current sector  1102  and determining if a wash is required  1103 . If a wash is required, a wash function is enabled  1104  and, if not, the wash function is disabled  1105 . Operation in the predefined wiper mode is then performed  1106  until completion  1107  for the current sector whereupon it is determined whether the sequence is complete  1108 . If so, control reverts to B in  FIG. 10 . If not, the sequence proceeds to the next sector  1109 . 
     Technical effects and benefits of the enclosure design of the present disclosure are the provision of an enhanced ability to clear a most critical area of an aircraft windscreen, an enhanced ability to more thoroughly clean debris from the aircraft windscreen and an improved operator experience to allow tailoring of a cleaning profile. 
     While the disclosure is provided in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the disclosure is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that the exemplary embodiment(s) may include only some of the described exemplary aspects. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.