Foreign object insertion detection system for vehicle seat

• US 20070106429A1
• Filed: 11/06/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Toyo Denso Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Toyo Denso Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Endo, Masakazu, Kayumi, Tetsuya, Suda, Hirohide
• Application Number:
  US11/593,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106429A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/95 using a magnetic detector

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a control device for a vehicle seat that has a function enabling the accurate detection and immediate countermeasures even when a foreign object is sandwiched between the soft portions of the seats. According to a method of the present invention for detecting the insertion of a foreign object in a vehicle seat having a power slide mechanism, the foreign object insertion detection is performed by measuring a fluctuation AF of a seat drive force for each predetermined movement distance Δx and comparing the fluctuation quantity with a threshold Z. The threshold Z in this case is a fluctuation region value determined by subtracting, from a set threshold width h, a value [ΣKi(ΔF/Δx)i] obtained by successively adding up the products of the fluctuation quantity of the seat drive force for each predetermined movement distance and a coefficient Ki.

Claims

1. A foreign object insertion detection method for a vehicle seat having a power slide mechanism by which the foreign object insertion detection is performed by measuring a fluctuation Δ

F of a seat drive force for each predetermined movement distance Δ

x and comparing the fluctuation quantity with a threshold Z, wherein said threshold Z in this case is a fluctuation region value determined by subtracting, from a set threshold width h, a value [Σ

Ki(Δ

F/Δ

x)i] obtained by successively adding up the products of the fluctuation quantity of the seat drive force for each predetermined movement distance and a coefficient Ki.

2. The foreign object insertion detection method for a vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient Ki is a value determined for each predetermined movement distance Δ

x from a foreign object sandwiching start position, this value corresponding to a resilience characteristic of the seat.

3. The foreign object insertion detection method for a vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the coefficient Ki is a value which is read from a table of constants obtained by performing a foreign object sandwiching test by using the seat and performing optimization.

4. A foreign object insertion detection device for a vehicle seat, comprising:

a vehicle seat having a power slide mechanism;

a direct current motor of a drive source of the slide mechanism;

means for measuring a slide position x of the vehicle seat by a rotation of said motor;

means for determining a drive force F of said motor; and

a table of constants for allocating coefficients Ki that are set in advance according to a fluctuation quantity (Δ

F/Δ

x)i of the drive force for each predetermined movement distance, wherein an insertion is detected when Σ

Ki(Δ

F/Δ

x)i exceeds a threshold width h that is set in advance.