Patent ID: 7294986

Claim:
Apparatus for oscillating a windshield wiper device having a wiper, comprising: a) a motor for driving the windshield wiper device; b) a first detector including a detectant fixed to a rotary body which rotates in synchronism with the wiper and a reader fixed in position and in non-contact relation with the detectant, the first detector identifying a plurality of distinct angular zones for the wiper, including a wipe zone and a wiper out-of-bound (“OOB”) zone; c) a second detector for detecting incremental movement of the wiper within any given zone; and d) control circuitry for reversing the direction of motion of the motor based on the incremental motion of the wiper in the wipe zone and for reversing the motor or generating an error signal in the event the first detector detects the out-of-bound zone.