Vehicle slide door power supply apparatus and method of supplying power to vehicle slide door

• US 6,535,133 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2001
• Issued: 03/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Gohara, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUNG T
• Application Number:
  US09/987,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20020056233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 488 Days
• Field of Search: 340/584, 340/545.1, 340/546, 340/693.1, 340/636, 340/455, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/870.31, 493/60, 494/21, 493/52, 320/108, 320/109, 320/150
• US Class Current: 340/584
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 5/06 slidable; foldable
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/027 between relatively movable parts of the vehicle, e.g. between steering wheel and column devices for measuring, signalling or controlling tyre pressure or temperature specially adapted for mounting on vehicles B60C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/632 for horizontally-sliding wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/614 charging thereof
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/656 by travelling contacts
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/66 Wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/46 in or on the wing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/00 Details, accessories and auxiliary operations not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/531 Doors
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/46 for ICE-powered road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00309 Overheat or overtemperature protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction

Abstract

A vehicle slide door power supply apparatus includes a vehicle body-side primary coil (1) and a slide door-side secondary coil (2), which are brought into proximity to each other upon closing of a slide door to effect a mutual induction operation, thereby supplying electric power from a vehicle body to the slide door, a temperature sensor (3), provided in the vicinity of a proximity fitting surface of the primary coil (1) for the secondary coil (2), and a primary coil control device (4) which is connected to the temperature sensor (3), and can stop the excitation of the primary coil (1) in accordance with the temperature of the proximity fitting surface or the temperature of its vicinity, detected by the temperature sensor (3), so as to interrupt the supply of the electric power to the slide door.

Claims

1. A power supply apparatus for supplying electric power from a vehicle body to a slide door slidable mounted on the vehicle body of a vehicle, the power supply apparatus comprising:

a primary coil provided to the vehicle body;

a secondary coil provided to the slide door, wherein the primary and secondary coils can be brought into proximity to each other upon closing of the slide door to effect a mutual induction operation so as to supply the electric power;

a temperature sensor provided in a vicinity of the primary coil;

a primary coil control device which is connected to the temperature sensor, and stops excitation of the primary coil in accordance with the temperature of the primary coil or the vicinity of the primary coil detected by the temperature sensor, so as to interrupt a supply of the electric power to the slide door;

a slide door-contained battery for supplying electric power to a load driver driving and controlling at least one load on the slide door at least when the slide door is opened or when the supply of the electric power to the slide door is interrupted; and

charging means for charging the slide door-contained battery with the electric power supplied to the slide door through the secondary coil.

2. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an alarm unit for warning of abnormality of the power supply judged by the primary coil control device in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

3. A method of supplying electric power from a vehicle body to a slide door slidably mounted on the vehicle body of a vehicle, in which the electric power is supplied to the slide door by a mutual induction operation of a primary coil provided to the vehicle body and a secondary coil provided to the slide door when the slide door is closed, the method comprising the steps of:

comparing temperature of the primary coil or temperature of a vicinity of the primary coil detected by a temperature sensor with a threshold value, and

stopping excitation of the primary coil when the detected temperature exceeds the threshold value, so that the supply of the electric power to the slide door is interrupted.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of warning abnormality of a power supply through an alarm unit when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds the threshold value.