Movable or removable closures – With operator for movably mounted closure – Operator drives closure along guide
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-26
2001-01-30
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
With operator for movably mounted closure
Operator drives closure along guide
C049S031000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178699
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an open/close control system for controlling the opening and closing operations of a slide door, which is mounted on the side of a vehicle body and driven by a drive source, e.g., a motor, in accordance with an inclination of the slide door produced when the vehicle is vertically inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body, viz., when the vehicle stops on a sloping road.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an open/close control system for a vehicle slide door in which a slide door is mounted on the side of a vehicle body while being slidable in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle body, and is opened and closed by a drive source, e.g., a motor. An operating means is provided close to the driver's seat or a door handle. To open or close the slide door, a driver or any other occupant operates the operating means. In turn, the drive source is driven to move the slide door for its opening and closing.
The slide door is heavy, and moves linearly and in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, when the vehicle body is vertically inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body, the drive force to move the slide door is greatly varied.
When the vehicle is on a steep upward slope, a large drive force is required to move or slide the slide door in the upward direction. When the vehicle is on a flat road, a little force is required for the same purpose. When the vehicle is on a steep downward slope, a braking force, not the drive force, is required for sliding the slide door.
When the force, which is capable of moving the slide door being located on a steep slope in the upward direction, is used for moving the slide door in the upward direction, the force is too large to move the slide door in the horizontal or downward direction. A measure taken for this problem by the conventional technique is to control the force for moving or sliding the slide door in accordance with a door moving speed detected. This prior control usually uses a time delay technique for suppressing a hunting in the door movement. In a situation where the vehicle stops on a steep downward slope and its slide door is slid or moved downward direction, upon the start of door movement, the door rushes forward before the open/close control system operates.
When the vehicle is on a steep upward slope, to move its slide door in the upward direction, it is desirable to use a small drive force from the first in controlling the opening/closing operation of the door. To this end, it is very important to know an inclination of the vehicle body in the opening/closing control.
An open/close control system for a vehicle slide door is known in which when the slide door is manually moved, the control device detects the manual operation for the slide door and drives the drive motor to move or slide the door for its opening or closing. Specifically, the control device detects that a distance the slide door is manually moved reaches a preset value of distance or a moving speed of the slide door reaches a preset value of speed, and drives the motor to turn in such a direction as to move the door in the same direction as the moving direction of the manually moved door.
When the vehicle equipped with such a control device stops on a slope, a large force is required to manually move the slide door of the vehicle upward. Therefore, when the door is moved in the upward direction on the slope, it is desirable to quickly shift a control mode of the control device to a motor-driven control mode. One possible measure to obtain a quick shift of the control mode is to set the preset distance and the preset speed at small values. To this end, the necessity is to know a degree of inclination of the vehicle body before the open/close control for the slide door is exercised.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an open/close control system which detects a vertical inclination of the vehicle body with respect to its longitudinal direction during the course of the movement of the slide doe, not using a sensor or a suitable device provided exclusively for the inclination sensing purpose, and controls the opening and closing of the slide door on the basis of the inclination of the vehicle body thus detected.
According to the present invention, there is provided an open/close control system for a vehicle slide door, comprising: a drive source; an opening/closing mechanism for moving the slide door being mounted on a side of a vehicle body for opening and closing; clutch means for transmitting a drive force of said drive source to said opening/closing mechanism interruptively; movement signal generating means for generating a signal dependent on a moving direction of said slide door; and slide door control means for controlling the drive force to be transmitted to said opening/closing mechanism by controlling said drive source and said clutch means, wherein said slide door control means stops an operation of said drive source and thereby stops said slide door, declutches said clutch means to allow said slide door to be movable, detects a movement of said slide door caused by weight by use of an output signal of said movement signal generating means, and determines an inclination of a vehicle according to a detection result.
In the open/close control system, the movement signal generating means preferably comprises an encoder rotating in a direction dependent on the moving direction of said slide door, and said slide door control means detects a moving state of said slide door by use of a phase relationship between two-phase pulse signals derived from said encoder. Hereupon, the slide door control means can detect an inclination of the vehicle body at a position where the vehicle stops, by counting number of pulses of a pulse signal output from said encoder for a fixed time. Or the slide door control means can detect an inclination of the vehicle body at a position where the vehicle stops, by detecting an acceleration of said slide door by use of a period variation of the pulse signals output from said encoder.
Further, it is preferable that, when said slide door control means detects that said slide door is moved in an opening direction by weight, by use of an output signal from said movement signal generating means, said slide door control means judges that the vehicle body is on an upward slope, when said slide door is moved in a closing direction, said slide door control means judges that the vehicle body is on an downward slope, and when said slide door is not moved, said slide door control means judges that the vehicle is on a flat road.
Still further, the slide door control means detects an inclination of the vehicle body at a position where the vehicle stops, by use of a distance said slide door moves and a door speed at that time, or a moving time of said slide door and a door speed at that time.
The open/close control system for a vehicle slide door, which is thus constructed according to the present invention, detects a phase relation of an output signal produced from the movement signal generating means (e.g., a two-phase pulse signal output from a rotary encoder), to thereby detect a moving status of the slide door, and detects a vertical inclination of the vehicle body with its longitudinal axis on the basis of the detected phase relation. Specifically, when the slide door moves in the opening direction, the open/close control system recognizes that the vehicle is on an upward sloping-road; when it moves in the closing direction, the control device recognizes that-the vehicle is on a downward sloping road; when it is standstill, the control device judges that the vehicle is on a flat road.
A state that the slide door moved down by its weight may be analogous to a state that a spherical body rolls down on and along a slope. An acceleration of the door can be derived from any of a distance the door moved and a moving speed of the door
Kawanobe Osamu
Shimura Ryoji
Cohen Curtis A.
Ohi Seisakusho Co. Ltd.
Stodola Daniel P.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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