Arms full vehicle closure activation apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A vehicle comprising:
- a closure panel;
an actuator configured to automatically move said closure panel in at least one direction;
a radio frequency (RF) receiver that detects an RF signal emitted by an RF emitter to thereby detect the presence of a potential occupant of the vehicle;
an optical sensor that detects a response of said occupant wherein the optical sensor selectively generates and projects a concentrated light beam onto a surface, and detects a predetermined gesture of the occupant made with respect to the light beam without using the RF receiver; and
a controller having a stored expected response of said occupant that is selectable by the occupant and recorded by the controller to provide a unique coded command, including an expected interruption of the concentrated light beam via the predetermined gesture of the occupant;
wherein said controller receives the detected response of the occupant from the optical sensor, compares said detected response of said occupant to said stored expected response of said occupant, and activates said actuator to thereby automatically move said closure panel in said at least one direction when both said presence is detected and said detected response of said occupant equals said stored expected response of said occupant.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle is provided having a sensor for detecting a vehicle occupant'"'"'s presence, and another sensor for detecting an owner'"'"'s response with respect to automatically opening a vehicle closure panel. An actuator opens the closure panel when the occupant'"'"'s presence and response are detected. A signal from an emitter outside the vehicle signals occupant presence. A photoelectric and/or optical device, audio receiver, and/or touch-sensitive sensor detects the response. The optical device projects a light beam, and breaking the beam with a gesture signals the response. An automatic closure panel opening apparatus has an RF receiver adapted to receive an RF signal to detect occupant presence, a sensor for detecting the occupant response, and an actuator for opening the closure panel when both the presence and occupant response are detected. A method for automatically opening the closure panel includes detecting an occupant presence and response, and automatically opening the closure panel when a predetermined response is detected.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle comprising:
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a closure panel; an actuator configured to automatically move said closure panel in at least one direction; a radio frequency (RF) receiver that detects an RF signal emitted by an RF emitter to thereby detect the presence of a potential occupant of the vehicle; an optical sensor that detects a response of said occupant wherein the optical sensor selectively generates and projects a concentrated light beam onto a surface, and detects a predetermined gesture of the occupant made with respect to the light beam without using the RF receiver; and a controller having a stored expected response of said occupant that is selectable by the occupant and recorded by the controller to provide a unique coded command, including an expected interruption of the concentrated light beam via the predetermined gesture of the occupant; wherein said controller receives the detected response of the occupant from the optical sensor, compares said detected response of said occupant to said stored expected response of said occupant, and activates said actuator to thereby automatically move said closure panel in said at least one direction when both said presence is detected and said detected response of said occupant equals said stored expected response of said occupant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An automatic closure panel opening apparatus for use with a vehicle having a closure panel and an actuator configured for automatically opening and closing the closure panel, the apparatus comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive an RF signal from an RF emitter that is positioned external to the vehicle to thereby detect the presence of a potential occupant of the vehicle; an optical sensor configured to selectively generate and project a concentrated light beam from an underside of the vehicle onto a surface upon which the vehicle rests, and to detect a response of said occupant by detecting a gesture of said occupant at the underside of the vehicle with respect to said concentrated light beam; and a controller having a stored expected occupant response, including an expected interruption of the concentrated light beam in a predetermined direction, that is selectable by the occupant and recorded by the controller to provide a unique coded command, wherein said controller compares said detected response of said occupant to said stored expected response of said occupant, and activates said actuator to move the closure panel when said presence is detected and when said detected response of said occupant equals said stored expected response of said occupant. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for automatically opening a closure panel of a vehicle comprising:
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recording, using a controller, an expected gesture of a potential occupant of the vehicle as a unique coded command; detecting the presence of the potential occupant of the vehicle using a radio frequency (RF) receiver which receives RF signals from an RF emitter positioned external to the vehicle; alerting said occupant that said presence has been detected; generating a light beam, and projecting said light beam from an underside of the vehicle onto a surface on which the vehicle rests; detecting a gesture of said occupant with respect to said light beam, and without respect to motion of the RF emitter, as a detected response of said occupant, including detecting a direction of said gesture with respect to said light beam; comparing said detected response of said occupant to a stored expected response of said occupant; and automatically moving the vehicle closure panel in a predetermined direction via a controller of the vehicle when said detected response of said occupant equals said expected response of said occupant. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification