METHOD AND DEVICE FOR INCREASING THE PRECISION OF THE POSITION DETERMINATION OF A MOTOR-DRIVEN CLOSURE ELEMENT OF A VEHICLE

• US 20100211273A1
• Filed: 09/01/2008
• Published: 08/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Morawek, Roman, Köllner, Wolfgang, Mulacz, Peter Stephan
• Granted Patent: US 8,412,403 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/70 with automatic actuation
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/342 Pulse count value setting or correcting
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/55 Windows
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/001 Calibrating encoders
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/24461 by redundancy or plausibility
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/24485 using other sensors

Abstract

In a method and a device for increasing the precision of the position determination of a motor-driven closure element of a vehicle, the data corresponding to a force-displacement reference curve and the data corresponding to a force-displacement actual value curve are used, a correlation function is calculated, the maximum thereof is found, and the counter status of a position counter is corrected by using the position offset associated with the determined maximum.

Claims

1. A method for increasing the precision of the position determination of a motor-driven closure element of a vehicle, comprising the following steps:

determination and storage of data which corresponds to a force-displacement reference curve;

determination and storage of data which corresponds to a force-displacement actual-value curve;

calculation of a correlation function using the data which corresponds to the force-displacement reference curve, and the data which corresponds to the force-displacement actual-value curve;

determination of the maximum of the correlation function; and

correction of the counter status of a position counter in order to correct a counting error, using the position offset value associated with the determined maximum.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination and storage of the data which corresponds to the force-displacement reference curve is carried out during the production of the vehicle in the factory.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data which corresponds to the force-displacement reference curve are stored in a non-volatile memory.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination and storage of the data which corresponds to the force-displacement actual-value curve is carried out after each movement of the closure element during the operation of the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data which corresponds to the force-displacement actual-value curve are stored in a volatile memory.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stored data is differential data.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the calculation of the correlation function is realized according to the following relationship:

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the correction of the counter status of the position counter is implemented only when the determined maximum of the correlation function exceeds the second highest value of the correlation function by a predetermined factor.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the calculation of the correlation function and the subsequent steps are implemented in the immobile state of the system.

10. A device for increasing the precision of the position determination of a motor-driven closure element of a vehicle, comprising:

a motor movement detection device,

a position counter,

a first memory for storing data which corresponds to a force-displacement reference curve,

a second memory for storing data which corresponds to a force-displacement actual-value curve,

an evaluator operable to calculate a correlation function, using the data which corresponds to the force-displacement reference curve, and the data which corresponds to the force-displacement actual-value curve, further operable

to determine the maximum of the correlation function, and further operable

to correct the counter status of the position counter, using the position offset value associated with the determined maximum.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the first memory is a non-volatile memory.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the non-volatile memory is an EEPROM.

13. The device according to claim 10, wherein the evaluator is operable to implement determination and storage of the data which corresponds to the actual-value curve after every movement of the closure element during the operation of the vehicle.

14. The device according to claim 10, wherein the second memory is a volatile memory.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the volatile memory is a RAM associated with the evaluator.

16. The device according to claim 10, wherein the evaluator is operable to carry out the calculation of the correlation function according to the following relationship:

17. The device according to claim 10, wherein the evaluator is operable to check whether the maximum of the correlation function exceeds the second highest value of the correlation function by a predetermined factor, and the correction of the counter status of the position counter is implemented only when the determined maximum of the correlation function exceeds the second highest value of the correlation function by at least the predetermined factor.

18. A device for increasing the precision of the position determination of a motor-driven closure element of a vehicle, comprising:

a motor movement detection device,

a position counter,

a first memory for storing data which corresponds to a force-displacement reference curve,

a second memory for storing data which corresponds to a force-displacement actual-value curve,

a microprocessor programmed

to calculate a correlation function, using the data which corresponds to the force-displacement reference curve, and the data which corresponds to the force-displacement actual-value curve,

to determine the maximum of the correlation function, and

to correct the counter status of the position counter, using the position offset value associated with the determined maximum.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein the microprocessor is further programmed to implement determination and storage of the data which corresponds to the actual-value curve after every movement of the closure element during the operation of the vehicle.

20. The device according to claim 18, wherein the microprocessor is further programmed to carry out the calculation of the correlation function according to the following relationship: