Control device for vehicle opening/closing body

• US 9,868,340 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishikibe, Takeshi, Asano, Ryo, Hitomi, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): STRIMBU, GREGORY J
• Application Number:
  US14/975,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20160177609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 49139, 49140
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 5/101 for non-load transporting vehicles, i.e. family cars including vans
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/002 controlled by automatically acting means for powered-operated mechanisms E05F15/70
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/40 Safety devices, e.g. detection of obstructions or end positions
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/622 using screw-and-nut mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/75 responsive to the weight or other physical contact of a person or object
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/40 Control units therefore
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/11 Manual wing operation
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/50 for vehicles

Abstract

A control device for a vehicle closure body includes an electronic control unit configured to measure a position of the body, measure a speed of the body, determine an opening or closing direction in which the body is operated by a user, and move the body in the determined opening or closing direction with use of a drive unit when the speed of the body measured at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than a speed threshold at the measured position of the body.

Claims

1. A control device for a body of a vehicle, said body being mounted on the vehicle to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis in an opening direction and a closing direction, comprising

an electronic control unit configured to measure a position of the body of the vehicle, measure a speed of the body, and when the body is not operated by a drive unit, determine if a user is moving the body in the opening direction or the closing direction, and activate an assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction with use of the drive unit when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than a speed threshold at the measured position of the body, wherein the speed threshold is set such that a force applied to the body by the user when the assist operation is activated is substantially constant irrespective of the position of the body.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to further measure a movement amount of the body, and activate the assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction with the use of the drive unit when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than the speed threshold at the measured position of the body, and the movement amount of the body from the measured position of the body is equal to or larger than a movement amount threshold.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the movement amount threshold changes according to the position of the body.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the movement amount threshold increases as the body moves in the opening direction.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the speed threshold changes according to the position of the body.

6. A control device for a body of a vehicle, the body being mounted on the vehicle to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis in both an opening direction and a closing direction, the control device comprising:

an electronic control unit configured to measure a position of the body of the vehicle, measure a speed of the body, and when the body is not operated by a drive unit, determine if a user is moving the body in the opening direction or the closing direction, and activate an assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction with use of the drive unit when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than a speed threshold at the measured position of the body, the speed threshold being set such that a force applied to the body by the user when the assist operation is activated is substantially constant irrespective of the position of the body,

wherein the speed threshold varies as the position of the body changes as the body moves in the opening direction or the closing direction.

7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to further measure a movement amount of the body, and activate the assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction with the use of the drive unit when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than the speed threshold at the measured position of the body, and the movement amount of the body from the measured position of the body is equal to or larger than a movement amount threshold.

8. The control device according to claim 7, wherein the movement amount threshold changes according to the position of the body.

9. The control device according to claim 8, wherein the movement amount threshold increases as the body moves in the opening direction.

10. A control device for a body of a vehicle, the body being mounted on the vehicle to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis in an opening direction and in a closing direction, the control device comprising:

an electronic control unit which measures a position of the body while the body is moving to determine a measured position of the body, measures a speed of the body while the body is moving, and when the body is not operated by a motor, determines if a user is moving the body in the opening direction or the closing direction, and activates an assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction through operation of the motor when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than a speed threshold at the measured position of the body; and

a memory that stores a speed threshold map identifying the speed threshold for different positions of the body so that a force applied to the body by the user when the assist operation is activated is substantially constant irrespective of the position of the body.

11. The control device according to claim 10, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to further measure a movement amount of the body, and activate the assist operation to move the body in the determined opening direction or closing direction through operation of the motor when the measured speed of the body, as moved by the user, at the measured position of the body is equal to or higher than the speed threshold at the measured position of the body, and the movement amount of the body from the measured position of the body is equal to or larger than a movement amount threshold.

12. The control device according to claim 11, wherein the movement amount threshold changes according to the position of the body.

13. The control device according to claim 12, wherein the movement amount threshold increases as the body moves in the opening direction.