Method and device for determining a position of a part of a motor vehicle seat which can be displaced by means of a drive device

• US 7,099,761 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2002
• Issued: 08/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Coburg
• Original Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG
• Inventors: Woller, Alexander, Carl, Ingo, Beloch, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/477,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20040158378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,576 Days
• Field of Search: 701/45, 701/46, 701/49, 280/734, 280/748, 180/271, 180/273, 318/466, 296/68.1, 296/65.01, 296/65.03
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0224 Non-manual adjustments, e.g. with electrical operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/14 Inductive; Magnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/30 Signal processing of sensor data

Abstract

A motor seat device includes a drive device for displacing a part of the seat in a particular direction. Data for operating the drive device in reaction to a presetting process is stored in a pre-setting memory. A memory drive device controls the drive device according to this operating data. The drive device is further controlled by having a control mechanism process the operating data issued from the drive device during its inertia rotation. The drive device is elastically coupled to the displaceable part so that an at least temporarily asynchronous movement can occur between the drive device and the displaceable part. The position of the displaceable part is determined by evaluating a signal generated by a drive movement of the drive device. The torque of the drive device or a parameter correlating thereto is evaluated to correct a position error caused by the asynchronous movement.

Claims

1. A method for determining a position of a part of a motor vehicle seat which is displaceable by an electric drive device elastically coupled to the displaceable part so that an at least temporarily asynchronous movement occurs between the electric drive device and the displaceable part, the method comprising:

determining the position of the displaceable part by evaluating a signal generated in dependence on a drive movement of the electric drive device;

evaluating a parameter comprising at least one of the torque of the drive device and at least one parameter of the electric drive device correlating with the torque;

using the evaluated parameter to correct a position error caused by the asynchronous movement between the electric drive device and the displaceable part.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter of the electric drive device correlating with the torque comprises at least one of a drive voltage, a drive current and a speed.

3. The method of claims 1 or 2, wherein the position error is corrected in dependence on a class assigned to the correction;

and

wherein the class assigned to the correction case is determined by comparing at least one of the torque of the drive device and a parameter of the drive device correlating with the torque with one or more threshold values.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each class is assigned a correction factor for correcting the position error.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein each class is assigned a correction constant for correcting the position error.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein for correction, the signal is weighted in dependence on at least one of the torque of the drive device and a parameter of the drive device correlating with the torque.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein data from the signals is divided for weighting into additive data and subtractive data;

and

wherein the actual position is corrected in the displacement direction and opposite the displacement direction for additive data and subtractive data respectively.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein from the signals is divided for weighting into data to be evaluated or data dropped for correction, and the position is updated corresponding to the data to be evaluated.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein signal pulses generated in dependence on the drive movement are evaluated;

wherein for evaluation the pulses are counted and added or subtracted according to the displacement direction; and

wherein the counting of the pulses is corrected.

10. The method of claim 7 or 9, wherein for correction the pulses are added to the position when the drive device is supplied with current as a result of a control signal used as a parameter for the displacement direction;

wherein the pulses are subtracted from the position when the supply of current to the drive device for the displacement direction is terminated;

wherein the pulses are subtracted from the position when the drive device is supplied with current as a result of a control signal of characteristic value for the counter displacement direction; and

wherein the pulses of the position are added when the supply of current to the drive device for the counter displacement direction is terminated.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter evaluated is a drive parameter.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter evaluated is an operating parameter.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter evaluated comprises the stored sluggish actions of the displacement system.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter evaluated comprises at least one significant characteristic of the displacement.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameter evaluated comprises a combination of one or more operating values, one or more drive values, stored sluggish actions and one of more significant characteristics.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the drive movement is determined by a single-channel non direction detectable sensor.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter comprising the torque of the drive device or at least one parameter of the drive device correlating with the torque is evaluated in a double function for correcting a position error and for detecting a jamming of an object or part of a human body.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein the signal pulses evaluated are generated in dependence on a rotational angle of the drive movement.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the parameter evaluated is a drive parameter selected from the group consisting of a control signal for the displacement direction, a scanning ratio of a pulse width modulation, a battery voltage, a displacement time, a drive temperature, a measured or calculated torque, or a combination of several of the preceding drive parameters.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein the parameter evaluated is an operating parameter selected from the group consisting of a seat occupancy, a seated weight of a seat user, a distribution of the seated weight, an atmospheric temperature, or a combination of several of the preceding operating parameters of the seat or of one or more operating parameters with one or more drive para meters.

18. A device for determining a position of a part of a motor vehicle seat which can be displaced by an electric drive device elastically coupled to the displaceable part so that an asynchronous movement can occur at lest temporarily between the electric drive device and the displaceable part, the device comprising:

an evaluation device for determining the position of a displaceable part by evaluating a signal generated in dependence on a drive movement of the electric drive device, and wherein the evaluation device evaluates additionally a parameter comprising at least one of the torque and a parameter of the electric drive device correlating with the torque, for correcting a position error caused by an asynchronous movement between the electric drive device and the displaceable part; and

a position error correcting device correcting a position error determined from the evaluation of a parameter comprising at least one of the torque of the drive device and a parameter of the drive device correlating with the torque.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the parameter of the electric drive device correlating with the torque comprises at least one of a drive voltage, a drive current and a speed.