Interesting Wiper Action in Volvo bus

[ankura12]

While travelling to Mangalore in rain, in a Volvo Bus, I noticed that the front galss wipers in the bus have a unique action. The right side wiper swings from left to right creating a wiping action on quarter circle in front of the driver. The left side wiper swings from right to left creating a wiping action on quarter circle on the left side of the glass. The two wiper motors are synchronised so that they do not clash. . With this, almost 3/4th of the front glass is kept clean.

Technically it is not difficult to achieve this. Is such a thing implemented in any of the cars.?

[bill1182]

Yes. Check Honda Civic. It has the same thing on it.

[amtak]

Dear Ankura,

Honda Civic has the same type of mechanism for keeping the windscreen clean

[moralfibre]

And did you notice windshield washers on the Volvo's? They are integrated in the wiper blades itself!

[ownerofazkaban]

yeah, ha observed it on Buick allure in canada. Kinda unique.

[salilpawar1]

As others pointed out...... the same mechanism is used in the Honda Civic.

Slightly OT:
I found a video where an MSRTC Volvo is probably doing 100+ kph in the rains.
YouTube - Mumbai Pune Expressway

[ankura12]

It is so much convenient to have this kind of wiper action. And it does not cost much to synchronise the two motors. I wih other cars also implemented it

[madan80]

the Renault Espace also has the same.

[trrk]

Originally Posted by ankura12

It is so much convenient to have this kind of wiper action. And it does not cost much to synchronise the two motors. I wih other cars also implemented it

Hi,

The Ambassadors - Mark I and Mark II - had definitely this sort of arrangement of wipers. I am not sure with which model it was changed. Mark IV onwards is the present arrangement.

Rajesh, Alleppey, Kerala

[directinjection]

Mercedes cars from early seventies period also had similar mechanism.

Before the launch of Mark IV in 1979, even the Ambassador had somewhat similar wiper movement, with the two wipers moving in opposite directions. However, the two wipers did not meet, nor overlap. There used to be a gap between the two. Hence there was no need for a synchronisation mechanism.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by ankura12

It is so much convenient to have this kind of wiper action. And it does not cost much to synchronise the two motors. I wih other cars also implemented it

For one thing, there aren't two stepper motors with elaborate synchronization to prevent collision.

There is just one motor and two linkages. So regardless of the speed or load on the motor, the two spindles are always in sync with each other.

As an offtopic aside on synchronization, the 1915 Fokker E.1 fighter had a synchronizer that allowed its nose mounted Spandau LMG 08 machine gun to fire through the arc of its spinning propeller without the bullets striking the propeller blades.

What's mind blowing is that this was achieved with pure mechanical engineering in the days without embedded computers or even analog electronics, which make it child's play.

Ram

[n_aditya]

What is the advantage of using this type of wiper action? I tried searchin but couldnt find a relevant thread. And the honda dealers had no idea too.

Could someone post a linky as i remember it was discussed on this forum long back (cant recollect where though)

[Absar]

Hey for those who want to see the civic wipers, how they are in action, check this video:

YouTube - 2006 Honda Civic Wipers

In my opinion, I don't like the action of the left side wiper turning from right to left. I prefer the normal design. But I do love the excellent blades on the Civic. So thick and effective!

Btw, in the Civic, are the windshield washers embedded in the blade itself like the Volvo?

A

[1100D]

In civic the passenger side wiper is of smaller size preventing it from interfering with the driver side one, not much of a gimmick here.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by trrk

Hi,

The Ambassadors - Mark I and Mark II - had definitely this sort of arrangement of wipers. I am not sure with which model it was changed. Mark IV onwards is the present arrangement.

Rajesh, Alleppey, Kerala

Not exactly, in the case of volvo's and older mercs, the wipers rest on top of each oher hence cleaning the middle part of the screen unlike the amby.

Advantage of this set up was that it reduced costs when engineering for RHD/LHD. Mercs later simngle jumping wiper uses a cam in the base of the arm to push the wiper into the corner. They later moved to a two arm set up as the cars got wider and windscreen rake got lower. If I am right, the passenger side wiper still pops into the corner.

Another reason for discontinuing the single wiper was because it tends to be hypnotice and also, the single wiper really chucks a lot of water onto unsuspecting pedestrians. Normally, the second wiper breaks the spray!!