Method for actuating a closure element arrangement, in particular of a motor vehicle

• US 9,283,994 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2013
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Hallstadt (Brose)
• Original Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Hallstadt (Brose)
• Inventors: Holzberg, Frank, Geuther, Udo
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US13/951,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20140032055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/49, 701/29.2, 324/207.18, 324/662, 434/69, 340/540
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2054 by foot gestures
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/12 Parts or details thereof locks E05B, E05B83/16; devices for holding open E05C17/00, e.g. while carrying oversize objects E05C17/042; hinges E05D; counterbalancing means E05F; checks, stops, buffers E05F5/00; springs, e.g. pneumatic springs F16F
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/73 responsive to movement or presence of persons or objects
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/858 by body parts
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/546 Tailgates
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/955 using a capacitive detector
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2017/9602 characterised by the type or shape of the sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2017/9613 using two electrodes per touch switch
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96078 Sensor being a wire or a strip, e.g. used in automobile door handles or bumpers

Abstract

A method for actuating a closure element arrangement, of a vehicle, wherein the closure element arrangement has a control system having a controller and a sensor arrangement. The sensor arrangement has at least one elongate distance sensor with a sensor extent, wherein a distance A from a user B can be detected with respect to the sensor extent with the distance sensor, which user B is located at a longitudinal position along the sensor extent. At least two elongate sensor sections, of the at least one distance sensor are provided, which sensor sections are each configured to detect a distance A from a user B, that the sensor sections have changing sensor configurations along the sensor extent, and that the longitudinal position of the user B is determined as a function of the sensor measured values of the at least two sensor sections by means of the controller.

Claims

1. A method for actuating a closure element arrangement of a motor vehicle, wherein the closure element arrangement has a closure element, a drive arrangement assigned to the closure element, and a control system having a controller and a sensor arrangement, wherein the sensor arrangement has at least one elongate distance sensor with a sensor extent, the method comprising:

detecting with the at least one distance sensor a transverse distance from a user with respect to the sensor extent, wherein the user is located at a longitudinal position along the sensor extent, wherein at least two elongate sensor sections, running essentially one next to the other, of the at least one distance sensor are provided, which sensor sections are each configured to detect the distance from the user, and wherein the sensor sections have changing sensor configurations along the sensor extent;

determining, with the controller, the longitudinal position of the user based on the sensor measured values of the at least two sensor sections;

monitoring, with the controller, the sensor measured values of the at least one distance sensor within the scope of an operator control event monitoring operation, to determine whether a predetermined operator control event occurs; and

actuating the drive arrangement based on the result of the operator control event monitoring operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising modifying the operator control event monitoring operation based on the longitudinal position of the user.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the longitudinal position of the user is based on an arithmetic operation between the sensor measured values of two sensor sections.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the longitudinal position of the user is based on the difference between the phase shifts between the voltage and the current in the sensor measured values of two sensor sections.

5. The method according claim 1, further comprising assigning an operator control event model composed of signal characteristic values to an operator control event, wherein within the scope of the operator control event monitoring operation the controller monitors whether the sensor measured values correspond to the signal characteristic values of the operator control event model, and further comprising generating the operator control event model based on the longitudinal position of the user, or selecting the operator control event model based on the longitudinal position of the user from a number of stored operator control event models, or parameterizing the operator control event model based on the longitudinal position of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one operator control event is defined as a foot movement of the user.

17. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining the longitudinal position of the user is based on a division of the sensor measured values of two sensor sections, or wherein determining the longitudinal position of the user is based on the difference between the sensor measured values of two sensor sections.

18. The method according to claim 6, wherein the at least one distance sensor is arranged in or on a rear cover part of a motor vehicle.

7. A control system for a closure element arrangement of a motor vehicle, wherein the closure element arrangement has a closure element and a drive arrangement assigned to the closure element, wherein the control system has a controller and a sensor arrangement, wherein the sensor arrangement has at least one elongate distance sensor with a sensor extent, wherein a distance from a user can be detected transversely with respect to the sensor extent by means of the distance sensor, wherein the user is located at a longitudinal position along the sensor extent, wherein, within the scope of an operator control event monitoring operation, the controller monitors the sensor measured values of the sensor arrangement to determine whether a predetermined operator control event occurs and actuates the drive arrangement based on the result of the operator control event monitoring operation,

wherein at least two elongate sensor sections, running essentially one next to the other, of the at least one distance sensor are provided, which sensor sections are each configured to detect the distance from the user, in that the sensor sections have changing sensor configurations along the sensor extent such that the longitudinal position of the user can be determined based on the sensor measured values of the at least two sensor sections by means of the controller.

8. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the current longitudinal position of the user can be determined exclusively based on the current sensor measured values of the at least two sensor sections by means of the controller.

9. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the change in the sensor configuration along the sensor extent is made in such a way that the longitudinal position of the user can be determined continuously along the sensor extent based on the sensor measured values of at least two sensor sections, or in that the change in the sensor configuration along the sensor extent is made in such a way that the longitudinal position of the user can be assigned to at least two different longitudinal sections along the sensor extent based on the sensor measured values of at least two sensor sections.

10. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the sensor sections each extend over the entire sensor extent, and/or in that a sensor section has a plurality of section parts.

11. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the at least one distance sensor is configured as a capacitive distance sensor and has at least one elongate measuring electrode which is composed of at least one electrical conductor.

12. The control system according to claim 11, wherein the sensor configuration of a sensor section is based on its geometry, its position, or its material composition.

13. The control system according to claim 11, wherein in order to change the sensor configuration the geometry of the measuring electrode changes along the sensor extent.

14. The control system according to claim 12, wherein in order to change the sensor configuration the material composition of the measuring electrode changes along the sensor extent.

15. The control system according to claim 7, wherein two distance sensors which run essentially one next to the other are provided, and in that one of the two distance sensors has the at least two sensor sections, or in that one distance sensor has one sensor section, and the other distance sensor has the other sensor section.

16. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the sensor configuration of the sensor section which changes along the sensor extent gives rise to a sensitivity profile of the sensor section which changes along the sensor extent.

19. The control system according to claim 9, wherein a trailer coupling is located or mounted in a longitudinal section.

20. A method for actuating a closure element arrangement of a motor vehicle, wherein the closure element arrangement has a closure element, a drive arrangement assigned to the closure element, and a control system having a controller and a sensor arrangement, wherein the sensor arrangement has at least one elongate distance sensor with a sensor extent, the method comprising:

detecting with the at least one distance sensor a transverse distance from a user with respect to the sensor extent, wherein the user is located at a longitudinal position along the sensor extent;

determining, with the controller, the longitudinal position of the user;

monitoring, with the controller, the sensor measured values of the at least one distance sensor within the scope of an operator control event monitoring operation, to determine whether a predetermined operator control event occurs;

modifying the operator control event monitoring operation based on the longitudinal position of the user, and

actuating the drive arrangement based on the result of the operator control event monitoring operation.