Apparatus for adjusting the position and/or angle of each movable equipment of a motor vehicle

• US 4,267,494 A
• Filed: 01/17/1979
• Issued: 05/12/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Oka, Takashi, Yamaki, Kiyoshi, Nomura, Hiroyuki, Mogi, Takaaki, Matsuoka, Hideoki, Mizote, Masanori, Mimura, Akitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dobeck, B.
• Application Number:
  US06/004,205
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 318/600, 318/601, 318/603, 318/568, 296/63, 296/65 R, 180/77 N, 307/10 R, 307/10 SB, 280/226 R, 280/226 A
• US Class Current: 318/568.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/351 the positional error is used to control continuously the servomotor according to its magnitude

Abstract

An apparatus for adjusting the position and/or angle of each movable equipment of a motor vehicle comprises sensors to produce electrical signals indicative of the position and/or angle of each movable equipment, memory circuit including a plurality of memory units for respectively storing sensed information indicative of the optimal positions and/or angles of the equipment for each driver, comparators responsive to the sensed information and the stored information, and driving circuitry responsive to output signals of the comparators to adjust the positions and/or angles of the equipment. When the drivers are changed, the sensed information is compared with the stored information and then the position and/or angle of each equipment is adjusted until the sensed information equals the stored information to provide the driver with the optimal position and/or angle.

Claims

1. An apparatus for adjusting the position, including selectively the angular position, of at least one equipment movably installed in a motor vehicle such that each of said at least one equipment takes an optimal position for each of a plurality of predetermined persons expected to alternately drive the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

(a) first means for sensing actual position of each of said at least one equipment and providing information indicative of the sensed position;

(b) second means having a WRITE-IN function for storing a plurality of sets of reference information each provided by said first means when each of said at least one equipment takes an optimal position for one of said persons and a READ-OUT function for selectively providing a specific set of reference information with respect to specific one of said persons;

(c) third means responsive to said first and second means for producing at least one control signal by comparing information which is provided by said first means and is indicative of actual position of each of said at least one equipment with said specific set of reference information; and

(d) fourth means for adjusting the position of each of said at least one equipment in accordance with said at least one control signal.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first means comprises means for sensing the longitudinal position of the driver'"'"'s seat of said motor vehicle.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first means comprises means for sensing the rotational angle of the reclining backrest operatively connected to said driver'"'"'s seat.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first means comprises means for sensing the rotational angles in first and second directions of the rear view mirrors.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second means comprises a plurality of memory units for storing said plurality of sets of reference information, respectively, and means for selectively enabling WRITE-IN and READ-OUT functions of each memory unit.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising display means for visually indicating which memory unit is enabled.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising means for intermittently energizing said display means until the information sensed by said first means coincides with said specific set of reference information.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said third means comprises at least one digital comparator.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fourth means comprises at least one driving circuit including an electrical motor of a reversible type, said driving circuit producing a first signal which causes the shaft of said electrical motor to rotate in a predetermined direction, a second signal which causes said shaft of the same to rotate in an opposite direction, and a third signal which causes said electrical motor to be deenergized.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for disabling said further means, said disabling means including means for detecting at least one vehicle parameter indicating that the vehicle is stationary, said fourth means being disabled when said vehicle is other than stationary.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said disabling means comprises a handbrake switch for producing a signal indicating that the handbrake is not actuated, a vehicle speed sensor for producing a signal indicating that the vehicle speed is over zero, and logic gate circuits connected to said handbrake switch and to said vehicle speed sensor.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising manual switching means for manually energizing said fourth means for the adjustment irrespective of said control signal.