Electricity: motive power systems – Motor-reversing
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-27
2003-09-09
Masih, Karen (Department: 2837)
Electricity: motive power systems
Motor-reversing
C318S282000, C318S445000, C318S465000, C318S434000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06617812
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 with respect to a Japanese Patent Application 2001-052998, filed on Feb. 27, 2001, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to an electrically moving apparatus provided with a safety mechanism for stopping a moving operation of a movable body or reversing a moving direction thereof when a load applied to the movable body is increased and surpasses a reference value over a predetermined threshold value. More particularly, this invention pertains to an electrically moving apparatus applicable for a vehicle sun roof apparatus provided with a sliding panel operated by an electric motor for opening and closing an opening defined in a vehicle roof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There have been widely known various electrically moving apparatus provided with a safety mechanism and being applicable for a vehicle window, a vehicle sun roof and the like. Referring to an electrically moving apparatus disclosed in a Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 61 (1986)-69391, the electrically moving apparatus is provided for a power window or a vehicle sun roof apparatus and is employed for stopping a moving operation of a window glass or a sliding panel or for reversing a moving direction thereof in an opening direction when a load for closing them is detected to be abnormally increased due to entrapments of foreign objects such as a hand. Therefore, the window glass or the sliding panel can be operated by the electrically moving apparatus provided with the safety mechanism not to apply overload to the entrapped foreign object.
A common sun roof apparatus is generally provided with a deflector at a front edge portion of an opening defined in a vehicle roof so as to prevent wind from being involved into a vehicle interior during the vehicle running. The deflector is lifted down to be set at an inoperative position when the sliding panel is moved in a vehicle forward direction for closing the opening. On the other hand, the deflector is lifted up by means of a return spring to be set at an operative position when the opening is opened again. When the above described electrically moving apparatus with the safety mechanism is applied for the sun roof apparatus, changes of the load applied to the sliding panel can be detected by revolution changes of an electric motor. A predetermined threshold value has been predetermined to judge a decreasing revolution of the electric motor for distinguishing the increasing load due to an entrapment from the other increasing load for lifting the deflector down to set at the inoperative position against an operational force of the return spring. The threshold value is preset not to operate the safety mechanism only in response to a decreasing amount of the electric motor revolution generated by the increase of the load for setting the deflector at the inoperative position.
However, according to the electrically moving apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the deflector for preventing wind from being involved into a vehicle interior may be sized-up to achieve the sun roof apparatus with a large opening area for an occupant to feel more comfortable in the vehicle. In this case, the operational force of the return spring is required to be increased for stably supporting the deflector at the operative position against wind pressure, vehicle vibration and the like. In this case, the threshold value to judge the decreasing amount of the electric motor revolution is required to be large not for operating the safety mechanism by recognizing the lift down of the deflector as the entrapment by mistake. That is, the threshold value is required to be set corresponding to large load. In this case, the load to detect the entrapment is hence increased. This may lead to lower a security of the electrically moving apparatus accommodated for the sun roof apparatus. However, when the security of the electrically moving apparatus for the sun roof apparatus is required to be improved, the spring with a sufficiently large operational force for supporting the deflector at the operative position may not be able to be employed.
Accordingly, the disclosed electrically moving apparatus is still susceptible of certain improvements with respect to being applicable for the sun roof apparatus having the spring for stably supporting the deflector at the operative position without increasing the threshold value.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention that an electrically moving apparatus for moving a movable body is provided with a safety mechanism for accurately preventing entrapment by operating the movable body with a small load of an electric motor and is provided with a return spring with a sufficiently large operating force.
In order to achieve the objective, there is provided an improved electrically moving apparatus for moving the movable body comprising an electric motor for moving the movable body, an operative member operatively connected to the movable body and operated in response to the movement of the movable body. The electrically moving apparatus for moving the movable body further comprises a control device. The control device stops the movement of the movable body or reverses a moving direction thereof when a load applied to the movable body is increased from a reference value over a predetermined threshold value during the movement of the moveable body. The control device further updates the reference value, wherein a load of the electric motor is temporarily decreased during the operation of the operative member.
Preferably, the control device preferably includes a means for temporarily decreasing the load of the electric motor during the operation of the operative member including a sliding surface provided on an upper portion of the operative member, a recessed portion defined on the sliding surface, and a contact member moved in response to the movement of the movable body so as to become in contact with the recessed portion for temporarily decreasing the load of the electric motor during the operation of the operative member.
Further, the control device preferably includes a means for temporarily decreasing the load of the electric motor during the operation of the operative member including a contact portion provided on a lower portion of the operative member, a recessed portion defined on the contact portion, and a biasing means for biasing the operative member in an upper direction for temporarily decreasing the load of the electric motor during the operation of the operative member.
The electrically moving apparatus for moving the movable body preferably comprises a means for detecting a decrease or an increase of a revolution of the electric motor and a means for detecting an increase or a decrease of the load applied to the movable body based upon the decrease or the increase of the revolution of the electric motor detected by the means for detecting the decrease or the increase of the revolution of the electric motor, wherein the reference value is updated when the load applied to the movable body is decreased.
Preferably, the electrically moving apparatus with the above described structure is applied to a sun roof apparatus including an opening defined in a vehicle roof. The sun roof apparatus provided with the electrically moving apparatus includes a sliding panel movably connected to the vehicle roof and movable in a vehicle longitudinal direction for closing and opening the opening by an operation of an electric motor, a deflector operatively connected to the sliding panel and operated to be tilted up and down in response to the movement of the sliding panel, and a control device for stopping the movement of the sliding panel or reversing a moving direction thereof when a load applied to the sliding panel is increased from a reference value over a predetermined threshold value during the movement of the sliding panel and for updating the r
Kitani Takashi
Nagashima Youji
Tanoi Tsutomu
Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Masih Karen
LandOfFree
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