POWER WINDOW APPARATUS

• US 20120180394A1
• Filed: 01/12/2012
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shinohara, Akihiko
• Application Number:
  US13/349,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20120180394A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 49/349
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/00 Power-operated mechanisms for wings motor-operated accessories in locks for completing closing or initiating opening of a wing E05B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/41 Detection by monitoring transmitted force or torque E05F15/48 takes precedence; Safety couplings with activation dependent upon torque or force, e.g. slip couplings
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/695 Control circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/57 Disabling thereof
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/748 end
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/55 Windows

Abstract

A power window apparatus includes a movable member, a motor, a pulse generator that generates a pulse as the motor rotates, and a controller. The controller includes a reference position setting unit that sets a pulse reference value corresponding to a reference position, a position detecting unit that detects a level of the height of the movable member on the basis of pulses, a lock detecting unit that, on the basis of pulses, detects a locked or unlocked state of the motor, a pinch detecting unit that, in the case where the locked state of the motor is detected, determines, on the basis of whether the level of the height of the movable member is positioned in a non-detection area, whether the movable member has reached the upper-end lock position or a pinch has occurred, and a voltage detecting unit that detects a driving voltage applied to the motor.

Claims

1. A power window apparatus comprising:

a movable member that constitutes a window of a vehicle;

a motor that drives the movable member;

a pulse generator that generates a pulse as the motor rotates; and

a controller that controls the motor, wherein

the controller includes

reference position setting means for setting a pulse reference value corresponding to an upper-end lock position, serving as a reference position of the movable member,

position detecting means for detecting a level of the height of the movable member relative to the reference position by adding the number of pulses generated by the pulse generator to the pulse reference value,

lock detecting means for, on the basis of the period of pulses generated by the pulse generator, detecting a locked or unlocked state of the motor,

pinch detecting means for, in the case where the lock detecting means detects the locked state of the motor, determining, on the basis of whether the level of the height of the movable member detected by the position detecting means is positioned in a non-detection area set near the reference position, whether the movable member has reached the upper-end lock position or a pinch has occurred in the movable member, and

voltage detecting means for detecting a driving voltage applied to the motor, and

in the case where the pinch detecting means determines that the movable member has reached the upper-end lock position, the reference position setting means corrects the pulse reference value on the basis of the driving voltage applied to the motor detected by the voltage detecting means and sets the corrected value.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference position setting means calculates, on the basis of a previously measured relationship between a voltage at the upper-end lock position and a difference in the number of pulses relative to the pulse reference value at a reference voltage, a difference in the number of pulses associated with the driving voltage applied to the motor detected by the voltage detecting means, adds the calculated difference in the number of pulses to the pulse reference value at the reference voltage, and sets the obtained value as the pulse reference value at the driving voltage.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controller further includes area setting means for setting a pulse value corresponding to the position of the lower end of the non-detection area, and

while the movable member is being driven so as to be closed, the area setting means corrects the pulse value corresponding to the lower end position of the non-detection area on the basis of the driving voltage applied to the motor detected by the voltage detecting means and sets the corrected pulse value.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the area setting means calculates, on the basis of a previously measured relationship between a voltage at the upper-end lock position and a difference in the number of pulses relative to the pulse reference value at a reference voltage, a difference in the number of pulses associated with the driving voltage applied to the motor detected by the voltage detecting means, adds the calculated difference in the number of pulses to the pulse value corresponding to the lower end position of the non-detection area at the reference voltage, and sets the obtained value as the pulse value corresponding to the lower end position of the non-detection area at the driving voltage.