Seat Control Electronic System and Method for a Motor-Driven Motor Vehicle Adjusting Device

• US 20090055055A1
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company Komanditgesellschaft
• Inventors: Schussler, Markus, Rosch, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,214,109 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/0851 for motors actuating a movable member between two end positions, e.g. detecting an end position or obstruction by overload signal

Abstract

The invention relates to a seat control electronic system for controlling a drive of a motor vehicle seat which is configured for detecting a characteristic variable of the drive during several short actuations of the drive) and to evaluate variables respectively associated with several short actuations, and to determine a blocking function according to the evaluations.

Claims

1. A seat control electronic system having a trapping prevention function for a motor-driven seat adjusting device, with the seat control electronic system being configured

to determine an adjusting movement of a drive from at least one detected characteristic variable of the drive, and

to determine a trapping instance from measured values of the characteristic variable of a first adjustment operation and from measured values of the characteristic variable of a second and/or further brief adjustment operations during a plurality of brief adjustment operations of the drive in the same adjustment direction.

2. The seat control electronic system according to claim 1, wherein said seat control electronic system is configured

to determine a first total load exerted by the drive during the first adjustment operation,

to determine a second total load exerted by the drive after an adjustment break for the second adjustment operation in the same adjustment direction,

to not reject an evaluation of the determined first total load if an adjustment path or adjustment time of the second adjustment operation falls below a threshold, and

to stop the drive or to reverse the adjustment direction of the drive if a trapping instance is detected as a function of an evaluation of the first total load and the second total load.

3. The seat control electronic system according to claim 2, wherein said seat control electronic system is configured to determine and to store a first nominal load during the first adjustment operation from the first total load, and which is configured to determine whether trapping has occurred during the second adjustment operation from a comparison between the first nominal load and the second total load which varies during the second adjustment operation.

4. The seat control electronic system according to claim 2, wherein said seat control electronic system is configured

to determine and store a second nominal load first during a start phase of the second adjustment operation from the second nominal load if the adjustment path of the second adjustment operation exceeds the threshold, and

to determine whether trapping has occurred during a monitoring phase from a comparison between the second nominal load and the second total load which varies during the second adjustment operation.

5. The seat control electronic system according to claim 4, wherein, in order to delete the evaluation after the threshold is exceeded, the seat control electronic system is configured to replace the determined first nominal load with the second nominal load for the further determination of a trapping instance.

6. The seat control electronic system according to claim 4, in which the start phase corresponds to a translatory adjustment path of up to 50 mm or an inclination adjustment of approximately 1°

of the adjusting device.

7. The seat control electronic system according to claim 2, which is designed

to determine a third total load after a further adjustment break in the event of a third adjustment operation in the same adjustment direction,

to not delete an evaluation of the determined first total load if an adjustment path of the third adjustment operation falls below the threshold, and

to stop the drive or to reverse the adjustment direction of the drive if a trapping instance is detected as a function of an evaluation of the first total load and the third total load.

8. The seat control electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the seat control electronic system is configured to employ a first mathematical model in order to determine the total load, and to change over to a second mathematical model which takes into account the trapping instance only if there is a significant deviation between the total load and the nominal load or if there is a significant deviation between the detected characteristic variable for assessing whether trapping has occurred.

9. The seat control electronic system for controlling a drive of a motor vehicle seat, which is configured

to detect a characteristic variable of the drive during a plurality of brief actuation operations of the drive,

to evaluate the characteristic variable which is in each case associated with the plurality of brief actuation operations, and

to determine a trapping instance as a function of these evaluations of a plurality of actuation operations.

10. A method for controlling a motor-driven motor vehicle adjusting device, wherein a total load that is exerted by the drive is derived from at least one detected characteristic variable of a drive in order to monitor for a trapping instance, with

a first total load being determined during a first adjustment operation,

a second total load being determined after an adjustment break in the event of a second adjustment operation in the same adjustment direction,

an evaluation of the determined first total load not being rejected if an adjustment path or adjustment time of the second adjustment operation falls below a threshold, and

the drive being stopped or the adjustment direction of the drive being reversed if a trapping instance is detected as a function of an evaluation of the first total load and the second total load.

11. The method according to claim 10, in which a first nominal load is determined and stored during the first adjustment operation from the first total load, and in which the process determines whether trapping has occurred during the second adjustment operation from a comparison between the first nominal load and the second total load which varies during the second adjustment operation.

12. The method according to claim 10,

in which a second nominal load is determined and stored first during a start phase of the second adjustment operation from the second total load if the adjustment path of the second adjustment operation exceeds the threshold,

and in which the process determines whether trapping has occurred during a monitoring phase from a comparison between the second nominal load and the second total load which varies during the second adjustment operation.

13. The method according to claim 11, in which, in order to delete the evaluation after the threshold is exceeded, the determined first nominal position is replaced with the second nominal load for the further determination of a trapping instance.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein

a third total load is determined after a further adjustment break in the event of a third adjustment operation in the same adjustment direction,

an evaluation of the determined first total load and/or an evaluation of the determined second total load is not deleted if an adjustment path of the third adjustment operation falls below the threshold, and

the drive is stopped or the adjustment direction of the drive is reversed if a trapping instance is detected as a function of an evaluation of the first total load and the third total load.