This brief highlights a revolutionary new method for measuring force distribution between a windshield wiper blade and glass along the entire length of the wiper blade.

Windshield wiper system designers at companies like Trico, ITT Automotive, Valeo, Tridon and others face many challenges when designing wiper systems that will effectively clean a windshield. The combination of different blade lengths, rubber durometer, low and uneven pressures, varying windshield contours, complex mechanical linkages and varying wind impact velocities add to the challenge of the task. Knowing the force distribution between the windshield and the blade at various positions, and along the entire length of the blade, provides insights into how to improve the cleaning performance of the wiper blade.

The Tekscan Wiper System sensing strip contains approximately 100 individual force sensors along its length. The accompanying electronics, calibration fixtures and software are sensitive, flexible, and portable enough to measure the windshield to wiper blade interface force profile under various conditions. The Wiper System makes it very easy to view the differences in pressure profile between wiper upstroke and downstroke, or analyze something as complicated as the "blade lift-off" effect that results from varying vehicle speeds or wind impingement velocities.

This system has been used to measure and help improve blade and wiper system performance. It has also been used as a competitive benchmarking tool, and has enabled companies to eliminate the need to build the costly fixtures formerly required to model windscreens.