64 as shown in fig3 belleville washer 54 is compressed a predetermined amount that is proportional to the amount of break away torque required to separate wiper arm 30 from drive gear 26 it will be appreciated that belleville washer 54 can be made of various materials and can be shaped differently in order to acquire the desired break away torque setting fig4 illustrates one possible configuration of the cam surfaces of the dual direction clutch 28 upper cam surface 46 includes a protrusion 68 extending substantially the diameter of annular portion 44 and mates with a corresponding groove 70 located in the lower cam surface 50 gear 26 is preferably made of a low friction material for example a glass filled plastic in order to enhance wearability and reduce friction it will be appreciated that wiper arm 30 and its corresponding wiper cam surface 46 be made of metal or of some other material in order to obtain the desired performance moreover telescoping portion 48 could be a component separate from gear 26 and they could be fixed together by conventional methods in operation driven gear 26 rotates wiper arm 30 continuously within the limits defined by the range limit system 32 this continues until either the operator turns off electric motor 20 or wiper arm 30 is obstructed this could occur when the wiper arm is stopped by ice on the windshield or some other obstruction such as someone grabbing wiper arm 30.