Method and apparatus for door selectable automatic unlocking sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle comprising:
- a frame;
a locomotion source supported to the frame for use in providing locomotion for the vehicle;
a passenger door supported to the frame for access to a portion of an interior of the vehicle, the passenger door having a locked condition for prohibiting the passenger door from opening and an unlocked condition for allowing the passenger door to open;
a wheel supported to the frame;
a seat supported to the frame;
a transmission supported to the frame for operatively connecting the locomotion source to the wheel, the transmission comprising;
a park condition for maintaining the wheel in a parked condition; and
,a moving condition;
an occupant detection system mounted to the frame for determining whether the seat adjacent the passenger door is occupied; and
,a passenger door unlocking system comprising;
a control unit mounted to the frame having an integrated circuit which selectively unlocks the passenger door, the control unit for selectively unlocking the passenger door comprising;
an input which receives a signal from the occupant detection system when the transmission is shifted from the park condition;
a logic unit which determines whether to send an unlock signal to the passenger door based upon the input; and
,an output which selectively sends the unlock signal to the passenger door when the transmission is changed from the moving condition to the park condition;
wherein the logic unit determines to engage the output and sends the unlock signal to the passenger door only if the input has received the signal that corresponds to the seat being occupied from the occupant detect system when the transmission was shifted from the park condition.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle door lock system may include a control unit for selectively unlocking a door, the control unit having an input for receiving a signal from an occupant detection system, a logic unit for determining whether to send an unlock signal to the door based upon the input, and an output for selectively sending the unlock signal to the door when the automatic door unlock conditions are met.
-
Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A vehicle comprising:
-
a frame; a locomotion source supported to the frame for use in providing locomotion for the vehicle; a passenger door supported to the frame for access to a portion of an interior of the vehicle, the passenger door having a locked condition for prohibiting the passenger door from opening and an unlocked condition for allowing the passenger door to open; a wheel supported to the frame; a seat supported to the frame; a transmission supported to the frame for operatively connecting the locomotion source to the wheel, the transmission comprising; a park condition for maintaining the wheel in a parked condition; and
,a moving condition; an occupant detection system mounted to the frame for determining whether the seat adjacent the passenger door is occupied; and
,a passenger door unlocking system comprising; a control unit mounted to the frame having an integrated circuit which selectively unlocks the passenger door, the control unit for selectively unlocking the passenger door comprising; an input which receives a signal from the occupant detection system when the transmission is shifted from the park condition; a logic unit which determines whether to send an unlock signal to the passenger door based upon the input; and
,an output which selectively sends the unlock signal to the passenger door when the transmission is changed from the moving condition to the park condition; wherein the logic unit determines to engage the output and sends the unlock signal to the passenger door only if the input has received the signal that corresponds to the seat being occupied from the occupant detect system when the transmission was shifted from the park condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A method of operating a locking system for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a transmission having a park condition and a moving condition, a door having a lock, and a seat positioned adjacent the at least one door, the method comprising the steps of:
-
detecting an occupancy condition of the seat; detecting the locked condition of the lock when the transmission is moved from the park condition; locking the door while the transmission is placed in the moving condition; and determining whether to unlock the lock when the transmission is moved back to the park condition based on the occupancy condition of the seat and the condition of the lock when the transmission was moved from the park condition, wherein the step of determining whether to unlock the lock determines to unlock the lock only when the occupancy condition of the seat is occupied and the door was unlocked when the transmission was moved from the park condition; wherein an occupant detection system mounted to the frame detects the occupancy condition of the seat; and
,wherein a control unit having an integrated circuit mounted to the frame detects the locked condition of the lock and determines whether to unlock the lock. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A vehicle comprising:
-
a frame; a locomotion source supported to the frame for use in providing locomotion for the vehicle; a passenger door supported to the frame for access to a portion of an interior of the vehicle, the passenger door having a locked condition for prohibiting the passenger door from opening and an unlocked condition for allowing the passenger door to open; a wheel supported to the frame; a seat supported to the frame; a transmission supported to the frame for operatively connecting the locomotion source to the wheel, the transmission comprising; a park condition for maintaining the wheel in a parked condition; and
,a moving condition; and
,a passenger door unlocking system comprising; a control unit mounted to the frame and having an integrated circuit which selectively unlocks the passenger door, the control unit for selectively unlocking the passenger door comprising; an input which receives a signal from the passenger door identifying whether the passenger door is in the locked condition or the unlocked condition when the transmission is changed from the park condition to the moving condition; a logic unit which determines whether to send an unlock signal to the passenger door based upon the input; and
,an output which selectively sends the unlock signal to the passenger door when the transmission is changed from the moving condition to the park condition wherein the logic unit determines to engage the output and sends the unlock signal to the passenger door only if the input has received the signal that corresponds to the seat being occupied from the occupant detect system when the transmission was shifted from the park condition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
Specification