JP7639566B2 - Door Control Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a door control device.

Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle that includes a vehicle body having a front opening and a rear opening, a front door that opens and closes the front opening, a rear door that opens and closes the rear opening, and an automatic opening/closing device that opens and closes the rear door. A touch sensor that detects contact with an object is installed in the vertical direction at the front end of the rear door.

When the automatic opening/closing device closes the rear door, it determines whether the rear door has come into contact with an object based on the signal output from the touch sensor. If the rear door comes into contact with an object, in other words, if the rear door has caught an object, the automatic opening/closing device stops the rear door or reverses the operating direction of the rear door.

JP 2015-153723 A

The vehicle described above may further include an automatic opening and closing device for the front doors so that the front doors can be opened and closed in the same way as the rear doors. In this case, when the front doors are closed, it is desirable to determine whether an object is trapped, in the same way as when the rear doors are closed.

The means for solving the above problems and their effects will be described below.
The door control device that solves the above problem is a door control device that is applied to a vehicle that includes a vehicle body having a front opening and a rear opening that are aligned in the front-to-rear direction, a front door that opens and closes the front opening, a rear door that opens and closes the rear opening, a touch sensor that is installed at one of the rear end of the front door and the front end of the rear door, and when the door of the front door and the rear door on which the touch sensor is installed is defined as a main door and the door on which the touch sensor is not installed is defined as a sub-door, the door control device is applied to a vehicle that includes a main door drive unit that operates to open and close the main door, and a sub-door drive unit that operates to open and close the sub-door. The system further comprises a door control unit which controls the main door driving unit and the sub-door driving unit to open and close the main door and the sub-door, and a contact determination unit which determines whether or not an object has come into contact with the touch sensor based on a detection result of the touch sensor, wherein when operating the main door to close, the door control unit stops the main door if the contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor, and when operating the sub-door to close, the door control unit stops the sub-door if the main door is located in a fully closed position and the contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor.

The door control device configured as described above can determine whether an object has come into contact with the front door and rear door based on the detection result of a single touch sensor. In more detail, the door control device can stop the front door when an object comes into contact with the front door during the closing operation, and can stop the rear door when an object comes into contact with the rear door during the closing operation, based on the detection result of a single touch sensor.

The vehicle is provided with a latch mechanism that restrains the subdoor in a fully closed position in a fully latched state, restrains the subdoor in a half-open position in a half-latched state, and does not restrain the subdoor in an unlatched state. The subdoor drive unit has a first subdoor drive unit that opens and closes the subdoor between the fully open position and the half-open position, and a second subdoor drive unit that closes the subdoor from the half-open position to the fully closed position by transitioning the latch mechanism from the half-latched state to the fully latched state. When the contact determination unit is the first contact determination unit, the vehicle is provided with a second contact determination unit that determines whether an object has come into contact with the subdoor based on an increase in the load of the first subdoor drive unit. When the subdoor is closed, the door control unit preferably stops the subdoor if the second contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the subdoor until the latch mechanism reaches the half-latched state, and stops the subdoor if the first contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the subdoor after the latch mechanism reaches the half-latched state.

Even when the main door is in the fully closed position, if the sub-door is widely open, it may not be possible to determine whether an object has come into contact with the sub-door based on the detection result of the touch sensor. In this regard, the door control device configured as described above determines whether an object has come into contact with the sub-door based on an increase in the load on the first sub-door drive unit until the sub-door latch mechanism is in a half-latched state, in other words, until the sub-door reaches a half-open position. Therefore, the door control device can accurately determine whether an object has come into contact with the sub-door regardless of the position of the sub-door.

If the main door is not in the fully closed position when the sub-door is closed, the door control unit preferably waits until the main door is closed to the fully closed position before closing the sub-door.

The door control device configured as described above does not close the sub-door if the main door is not in the fully closed position. This allows the door control device to increase safety when closing the sub-door.

When it is determined that an object has come into contact with the main door during a closing operation of the main door, the door control unit preferably stops the main door and then opens the main door, and when it is determined that an object has come into contact with the sub-door during a closing operation of the sub-door, it preferably stops the sub-door and then opens the sub-door.

The door control device configured as above can further improve safety when closing the main door and sub door.

The door control device configured as above can detect contact of an object with the front door and rear door without adding additional touch sensors.

1 is a side view of a vehicle according to an embodiment; 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing components of a vehicle related to door drive; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the latch mechanism in an unlatched state. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a latch mechanism in a half-latched state. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the latch mechanism in a fully latched state. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by a control device to close a rear door. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by a control device to close a front door.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle equipped with a door control device will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2, the vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 20, a front door 30, a rear door 40, a touch sensor 50, a front locking device 60, and a rear locking device 70. As shown in Fig. 3, the vehicle 10 includes a front door driving unit 80, a rear door driving unit 90, a wireless communication device 100, and a door control device 200.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body 20 has a front opening 21 and a rear opening 22 aligned in the front-to-rear direction. The front opening 21 and the rear opening 22 open to the side of the vehicle body 20. The front opening 21 is located to the side of the front seat, and the rear opening 22 is located to the side of the rear seat. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the vehicle body 20 has a pillar 23 extending in the vertical direction between the front opening 21 and the rear opening 22, a front striker 24 protruding forward from the pillar 23, and a rear striker 25 protruding rearward from the pillar 23.

The front door 30 is a swing door whose front end is supported on the vehicle body 20 via a door hinge. The front door 30 opens and closes the front opening 21 by rotating around the axis of the door hinge that extends in the vertical direction. The front door 30 moves between a fully closed position that fully closes the front opening 21 and a fully open position that fully opens the front opening 21.

The rear door 40 is a sliding door supported on the vehicle body 20 via a rail extending in the fore-and-aft direction. The rear door 40 opens and closes the rear opening 22 by sliding in the fore-and-aft direction. The rear door 40 moves between a fully closed position in which the rear opening 22 is fully closed and a fully open position in which the rear opening 22 is fully open. The opening direction of the rear door 40 is rearward, and the closing direction of the rear door 40 is forward.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the touch sensor 50 is a long sensor that detects contact with an object. The longitudinal length of the touch sensor 50 is preferably equal to the vertical length of the rear opening 22. For example, when the touch sensor 50 is crushed due to contact with an object, the touch sensor 50 can be configured as a sensor that detects contact with an object by contacting two electrodes housed at a distance therebetween. The touch sensor 50 may also be an electrostatic sensor whose capacitance changes as an object approaches and contacts it.

The touch sensor 50 outputs a signal to the door control device 200 that varies depending on whether an object is in contact with the touch sensor 50. The touch sensor 50 is installed in the front end of the rear door 40 across the vertical direction. In this respect, in this embodiment, the rear door 40 corresponds to an example of a "main door," and the front door 30 corresponds to an example of a "sub-door."

As shown in FIG. 1, the front lock device 60 includes a front latch mechanism 61 that switches the restraining state of the front door 30 relative to the vehicle body 20. The front latch mechanism 61 is disposed in a position corresponding to the front striker 24 on the front door 30 that is in the fully closed position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front latch mechanism 61 includes a latch support shaft 62, a pole support shaft 63, a latch 64, a pole 65, a latch spring 66, and a pole spring 67. As shown in FIG. 3, the front latch mechanism 61 also includes a half latch switch SW1, a full latch switch SW2, and a pole switch SW3.

The latch support shaft 62 and the pole support shaft 63 are arranged with a gap between them. The axis of the latch support shaft 62 and the axis of the pole support shaft 63 extend parallel to each other. The latch support shaft 62 rotatably supports the latch 64, and the pole support shaft 63 rotatably supports the pole 65.

The latch 64 is biased in the first rotation direction R11 by a latch spring 66. The latch 64 has a first engagement portion 641 and a second engagement portion 642 that are spaced apart in the rotation direction of the latch 64. The latch 64 also has a striker engagement groove 643 that accommodates the front striker 24. The latch 64 faces the striker engagement groove 643 toward the front striker 24 by contacting a latch stopper (not shown).

The pole 65 is biased in the second rotation direction R22 by the pole spring 67. The pole 65 has a third engagement portion 651 that engages with the first engagement portion 641 and the second engagement portion 642 of the latch 64. The pole 65 is positioned by the third engagement portion 651 coming into contact with the latch 64.

In the following explanation, as shown in FIG. 4, in the front latch mechanism 61, the state in which the latch 64 faces the striker engagement groove 643 toward the front striker 24 is referred to as the "unlatched state." When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the unlatched state, the engagement between the latch 64 and the front striker 24 is released, and the front door 30 can be opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the front latch mechanism 61, when the first engagement portion 641 of the latch 64 and the third engagement portion 651 of the pole 65 are engaged, the latch 64 cannot rotate in the first rotation direction R11. In the following explanation, the state in which the first engagement portion 641 of the latch 64 and the third engagement portion 651 of the pole 65 are engaged in the front latch mechanism 61 is referred to as the "half-latched state." When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the half-latched state, the latch 64 cannot move in the opening direction of the front door 30 relative to the front striker 24. When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the half-latched state, the front door 30 is restrained in the half-open position.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the front latch mechanism 61, when the second engagement portion 642 of the latch 64 and the third engagement portion 651 of the pole 65 are engaged, the latch 64 cannot rotate in the first rotation direction R11. In the following explanation, the state in which the second engagement portion 642 of the latch 64 and the third engagement portion 651 of the pole 65 are engaged in the front latch mechanism 61 is referred to as the "fully latched state." When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the fully latched state, the latch 64 cannot move in the opening direction of the front door 30 relative to the front striker 24. When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the fully latched state, the front door 30 is restrained in the fully closed position.

The half latch switch SW1, full latch switch SW2, and pole switch SW3 are switches for detecting the state of the front latch mechanism 61. The half latch switch SW1, full latch switch SW2, and pole switch SW3 output signals according to the positions of the latch 64 and the pole 65 to the door control device 200.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear lock device 70 includes a rear latch mechanism 71 that switches the restraint state of the rear door 40. The rear latch mechanism 71 is disposed at a location corresponding to the rear striker 25 on the rear door 40 that is in the fully closed position. The rear latch mechanism 71 is configured in substantially the same manner as the front latch mechanism 61, except that it engages with the rear striker 25. Therefore, a description of the rear latch mechanism 71 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front door drive unit 80 includes a first front door drive unit 81 that opens and closes the front door 30 between the fully open position and the half-open position, and a second front door drive unit 82 that opens and closes the front door 30 between the half-open position and the fully closed position. The front door drive unit 80, the first front door drive unit 81, and the second front door drive unit 82 are examples of the "sub-door drive unit, the first sub-door drive unit, and the second sub-door drive unit," respectively.

The first front door drive unit 81 is a so-called power door actuator. The first front door drive unit 81 transmits the power of a motor (not shown) to the front door 30. In this way, the first front door drive unit 81 rotates the front door 30 in the opening direction and the closing direction, thereby opening and closing the front door 30.

The second front door drive unit 82 is a so-called door closer and door releaser. The second front door drive unit 82 transmits the power of a motor (not shown) to the latch 64 and the pole 65 of the front latch mechanism 61. In this way, the second front door drive unit 82 opens the front door 30 by shifting the front latch mechanism 61 from a full latch state or a half latch state to an unlatched state. On the other hand, the second front door drive unit 82 closes the front door 30 by shifting the front latch mechanism 61 from a half latch state to a full latch state. In the following description, the shifting of the front latch mechanism 61 from a half latch state or a full latch state to an unlatched state by the second front door drive unit 82 is also referred to as a release operation. In addition, the shifting of the front latch mechanism 61 from a half latch state to a full latch state by the second front door drive unit 82 is also referred to as a close operation.

The operation of the front door drive unit 80 will now be described.
When the front door 30 is closed from the fully open position or any other open position, the first front door drive unit 81 is driven. Then, the front door 30 starts to close toward the fully closed position. As shown in FIG. 4, when the front door 30 is closed close to the fully closed position, the latch 64 approaches the front striker 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the front door 30 is further closed, the front striker 24 starts to enter the striker engagement groove 643 of the latch 64. At this time, the latch 64 receives a reaction force from the front striker 24 and rotates in the second rotation direction R12 against the biasing force of the latch spring 66. Meanwhile, the pawl 65 is pushed by the latch 64 rotating in the second rotation direction R12 and rotates in the first rotation direction R21 against the biasing force of the pawl spring 67. When the latch 64 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 5, the pawl 65 returns to the position before rotation according to the biasing force of the pawl spring 67. As a result, the third engagement portion 651 of the pawl 65 engages with the first engagement portion 641 of the latch 64. In this way, the front latch mechanism 61 is in a half-latched state, and the front door 30 is closed to the half-door position. When the front latch mechanism 61 is in a half-latched state, the first front door drive unit 81 is stopped and the second front door drive unit 82 is driven. More specifically, the closing operation of the front latch mechanism 61 is started.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the latch 64 is rotated from the half-latch position in the second rotation direction R12 by the second front door drive unit 82, the front striker 24 advances further into the striker engagement groove 643 of the latch 64 toward the rear side. Meanwhile, the pawl 65 is pushed by the latch 64 rotating in the second rotation direction R12 and rotates in the first rotation direction R21 against the biasing force of the pawl spring 67. When the latch 64 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 6, the pawl 65 returns to the position before rotation according to the biasing force of the pawl spring 67. As a result, the third engagement portion 651 of the pawl 65 engages with the second engagement portion 642 of the latch 64. In this way, the front latch mechanism 61 is in a fully latched state, and the front door 30 is closed to the fully closed position. When the front latch mechanism 61 is in a fully latched state, the second front door drive unit 82 stops rotating the latch 64.

When the front latch mechanism 61 is in the half-latched or fully-latched state, if the user operates the door handle of the front door 30 or the second front door drive unit 82 performs a release operation, the pole 65 rotates in the first rotation direction R21. As a result, the latch 64 rotates in the first rotation direction R11 in accordance with the biasing force of the latch spring 66, and the front latch mechanism 61 transitions from the half-latched or fully-latched state to the unlatched state. In other words, the front door 30 opens from the half-latched or fully-closed position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear door drive unit 90 includes a first rear door drive unit 91 that opens and closes the rear door 40 between the fully open position and the half-open position, and a second rear door drive unit 92 that opens and closes the rear door 40 between the half-open position and the fully closed position. The rear door drive unit 90, the first rear door drive unit 91, and the second rear door drive unit 92 are examples of the "main door drive unit, the first main door drive unit, and the second main door drive unit," respectively.

The first rear door drive unit 91 is a so-called power door actuator. The first rear door drive unit 91 transmits the power of a motor (not shown) to the rear door 40. In this way, the first rear door drive unit 91 opens and closes the rear door 40 by sliding the rear door 40 in the opening and closing directions.

The second rear door drive unit 92 is a so-called door closer and door releaser. The second rear door drive unit 92 transmits the power of a motor (not shown) to the latch and pole of the rear latch mechanism 71. In this way, the second rear door drive unit 92 opens the rear door 40 by transitioning the rear latch mechanism 71 from a fully latched state or a half-latched state to an unlatched state. On the other hand, the second rear door drive unit 92 closes the rear door 40 by transitioning the rear latch mechanism 71 from a half-latched state to a fully latched state. In other words, the second rear door drive unit 92 releases and closes the rear latch mechanism 71, similar to the second front door drive unit 82.

The wireless communication device 100 has an antenna that transmits and receives signals of a predetermined frequency. The wireless communication device 100 determines whether the portable device 300 carried by the user is linked to the vehicle 10 by communicating with the portable device 300 carried by the user. The portable device 300 may be an electronic key for the vehicle 10 or a smartphone. The portable device 300 has an opening/closing switch for opening and closing the front door 30, and an opening/closing switch for opening and closing the rear door 40. In other words, the user can open and close the front door 30 and the rear door 40 by operating the opening/closing switch of the portable device 300.

The door control device 200 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3 , the door control device 200 includes a door control unit 201 , a first contact determination unit 202 , and a second contact determination unit 203 .

When the door control unit 201 receives an operation request from the portable device 300 to open or close the front door 30, it controls the front door drive unit 80 based on the output signals of the switches SW1 to SW3 of the front latch mechanism 61. When the door control unit 201 receives an operation request from the portable device 300 to open or close the rear door 40, it controls the rear door drive unit 90 based on the output signals of the switches SW1 to SW3 of the rear latch mechanism 71.

In this way, the door control unit 201 opens and closes the front door 30 between the fully open position and the half-open position using the first front door drive unit 81, and opens and closes the front door 30 between the half-open position and the fully closed position using the second front door drive unit 82. In addition, the door control unit 201 opens and closes the rear door 40 between the fully open position and the half-open position using the first rear door drive unit 91, and opens and closes the rear door 40 between the half-open position and the fully closed position using the second rear door drive unit 92.

When it is determined that an object has come into contact with the front door 30 and the rear door 40 during the closing operation, the door control unit 201 stops the closing operation of the front door 30 and the rear door 40. In this case, it is preferable that the door control unit 201 performs an opening operation of the front door 30 and the rear door 40 after stopping the closing operation of the front door 30 and the rear door 40.

When the rear door drive unit 90 is closing the rear door 40, the first contact determination unit 202 determines whether an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50. The determination of whether an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 is performed repeatedly in a predetermined control cycle, regardless of the position of the rear door 40.

2, in the vehicle 10 of this embodiment, when the rear door 40 is in the fully closed position, the touch sensor 50 is present in the closing direction of the rear end of the front door 30. Therefore, when the front door drive unit 80 is closing the front door 30 in a situation where the rear door 40 is stopped in the fully closed position, the first contact determination unit 202 determines whether an object has contacted the touch sensor 50 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50. The determination of whether an object has contacted the touch sensor 50 is performed repeatedly in a predetermined control cycle, regardless of the position of the front door 30. The determination of whether the rear door 40 is stopped in the fully closed position may be made based on whether the rear latch mechanism 71 is in a fully latched state.

The second contact determination unit 203 determines whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 during the closing operation based on a change in the load of the first front door drive unit 81. The second contact determination unit 203 determines whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 during the closing operation while the first front door drive unit 81 is closing the front door 30, in other words, until the front latch mechanism 61 goes from the unlatched state to the half-latched state.

Similarly, the second contact determination unit 203 determines whether an object has come into contact with the rear door 40 during the closing operation based on a change in the load of the first rear door drive unit 91. The second contact determination unit 203 determines whether an object has come into contact with the rear door 40 during the closing operation while the first rear door drive unit 91 is closing the rear door 40, in other words, until the rear latch mechanism 71 goes from the unlatched state to the half-latched state.

The load on the first front door drive unit 81 and the first rear door drive unit 91 increases when, for example, the door in operation comes into contact with an object, causing the rotation speed of the motor output shaft to decrease and the motor current to increase. In this regard, the second contact determination unit 203 can determine whether the door in operation has come into contact with an object based on changes in the rotation speed and motor current of the motor of the door drive unit.

Next, the flow of processing carried out by the door control device 200 to close the rear door 40 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
7, the door control device 200 determines whether or not there is a request from the user to close the rear door 40 (S11). If there is no request from the user to close the rear door 40 (S11: NO), the door control device 200 ends this process. On the other hand, if there is a request from the user to close the rear door 40 (S11: YES), the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the first rear door drive unit 91 (S12).

The door control device 200 then determines whether the load on the first rear door drive unit 91 has increased (S13). If the load on the first rear door drive unit 91 has increased (S13: YES), in other words, if an object has come into contact with the rear door 40 during the closing operation, the door control device 200 stops the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the first rear door drive unit 91 (S14). The door control device 200 then ends this process.

If the load on the first rear door drive unit 91 does not increase in step S13 (S13: NO), the door control device 200 determines whether an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S15). If it is determined that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S15: YES), in other words, if an object has come into contact with the rear door 40 during the closing operation, the door control device 200 proceeds to step S14.

On the other hand, if it is determined that an object is not in contact with the touch sensor 50 (S15: NO), the door control device 200 determines whether the rear latch mechanism 71 has transitioned from the unlatched state to the half-latched state (S16). If the rear latch mechanism 71 has not transitioned to the half-latched state (S16: NO), the door control device 200 proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if the rear latch mechanism 71 has transitioned to the half-latched state (S16: YES), in other words, if the rear door 40 has been closed to the half-door position, the door control device 200 ends the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the first rear door drive unit 91 (S17).

Then, the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the second rear door drive unit 92 (S18). In other words, the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the rear latch mechanism 71. Next, the door control device 200 determines whether or not an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S19). If it is determined that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S19: YES), the door control device 200 stops the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the second rear door drive unit 92 (S20). Then, the door control device 200 ends this process.

If it is determined in step S19 that an object is not in contact with the touch sensor 50 (S19: NO), the door control device 200 determines whether the rear latch mechanism 71 has transitioned from a half-latched state to a fully-latched state (S21). If the rear latch mechanism 71 has not transitioned to the fully-latched state (S21: NO), the door control device 200 transitions to step S19. On the other hand, if the rear latch mechanism 71 has transitioned to the fully-latched state (S21: YES), in other words, if the rear door 40 has been closed to the fully-closed position, the door control device 200 ends the closing operation of the rear door 40 by the second rear door drive unit 92 (S22). The door control device 200 then ends this process.

Next, a flow of processing executed by the door control device 200 to close the front door 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
8, the door control device 200 judges whether or not there is a request from the user to close the front door 30 (S31). If there is no request from the user to close the front door 30 (S31: NO), the door control device 200 ends this process. On the other hand, if there is a request from the user to close the front door 30 (S31: YES), the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the front door 30 by the first front door drive unit 81 (S32).

Then, the door control device 200 determines whether the load on the first front door drive unit 81 has increased (S33). If the load on the first front door drive unit 81 has increased (S33: YES), the door control device 200 stops the closing operation of the front door 30 by the first front door drive unit 81 (S34). The door control device 200 then ends this process.

In step S33, if the load on the first front door drive unit 81 does not increase (S33: NO), the door control device 200 judges whether the rear latch mechanism 71 is in a fully latched state (S35). If the rear latch mechanism 71 is not in a fully latched state (S35: NO), in other words, if the rear door 40 is not in a fully closed position, the door control device 200 proceeds to step S37, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the rear latch mechanism 71 is in a fully latched state (S35: YES), in other words, if the rear door 40 is in a fully closed position, the door control device 200 judges whether an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S36). If it is judged that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S36: YES), the door control device 200 proceeds to step S34.

On the other hand, if it is determined that an object is not in contact with the touch sensor 50 (S36: NO), the door control device 200 determines whether the front latch mechanism 61 has transitioned from the unlatched state to the half-latched state (S37). If the front latch mechanism 61 has not transitioned to the half-latched state (S37: NO), the door control device 200 proceeds to step S33. On the other hand, if the front latch mechanism 61 has transitioned to the half-latched state (S37: YES), in other words, if the front door 30 has been closed to the half-door position, the door control device 200 ends the closing operation of the front door 30 by the first front door drive unit 81 (S38).

Then, the door control device 200 determines whether the rear latch mechanism 71 is in a fully latched state (S39). If the rear latch mechanism 71 is not in a fully latched state (S39: NO), in other words, if the rear door 40 is not in a fully closed position, the door control device 200 proceeds to step S39. In other words, the door control device 200 waits for the rear door 40 to be closed to the fully closed position. At this time, the door control device 200 may notify the user to prompt the user to close the rear door 40.

On the other hand, if the rear latch mechanism 71 is in a fully latched state (S39: YES), in other words, if the rear door 40 is in a fully closed position, the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the front door 30 by the second front door drive unit 82 (S40). In other words, the door control device 200 starts the closing operation of the front latch mechanism 61.

Then, the door control device 200 determines whether an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S41). If it is determined that an object has come into contact with the touch sensor 50 (S41: YES), the door control device 200 stops the closing operation of the front door 30 by the second front door drive unit 82 (S42). The door control device 200 then ends this process.

If it is determined in step S41 that an object is not in contact with the touch sensor 50 (S41: NO), the door control device 200 determines whether the front latch mechanism 61 has transitioned from a half-latched state to a fully-latched state (S43). If the front latch mechanism 61 has not transitioned to a fully-latched state (S43: NO), the door control device 200 transitions to step S41. On the other hand, if the front latch mechanism 61 has transitioned to a fully-latched state (S43: YES), in other words, if the front door 30 has been closed to the fully-closed position, the door control device 200 ends the closing operation of the front door 30 by the second front door drive unit 82 (S44). After that, the door control device 200 ends this process.

The operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.
(1) When the rear door 40 is operated to close, it is determined whether or not an object has come into contact with the rear door 40 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50. On the other hand, when the front door 30 is operated to close, it is determined whether or not an object has come into contact with the front door 30 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50, on the condition that the rear door 40 is positioned in the fully closed position. In this way, the door control device 200 can stop the front door 30 and the rear door 40 when the front door 30 and the rear door 40 that are being operated to close come into contact with an object, based on the detection result of one touch sensor 50.

(2) Even when the rear door 40 is in the fully closed position, if the front door 30 is widely open, it may not be possible to determine whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50. In this regard, the door control device 200 determines whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 based on an increase in the load on the first front door drive unit 81 until the front door 30 reaches the half-open position. Therefore, the door control device 200 can accurately determine whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 regardless of the position of the front door 30.

(3) If the rear door 40 is not in the fully closed position, the door control device 200 closes the front door 30 only to the half-open position. Therefore, the door control device 200 can increase safety when closing the front door 30 from the half-open position to the fully closed position.

(4) If an object comes into contact with the front door 30 and the rear door 40 during the closing operation, the front door 30 and the rear door 40 are stopped and then the front door 30 and the rear door 40 are opened. Therefore, the door control device 200 can further improve safety when closing the front door 30 and the rear door 40.

This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.
Even if the rear door 40 is not in the fully closed position, if the rear door 40 is in the half-open position, the touch sensor 50 may be crushed when an object comes into contact with the front door 30 being closed. Therefore, when performing a closing operation on the front door 30, the door control device 200 may stop the front door 30 if the rear door 40 is located between the half-open position and the fully-closed position and the first contact determination unit 202 determines that an object has come into contact.

- The door control device 200 may completely prohibit the closing operation of the front door 30 if the rear door 40 is not in the fully closed position. In other words, the door control device 200 may perform step S39 if step S31 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is judged to be positive.

- When the door control device 200 closes the front door 30 using the first front door drive unit 81, it is not necessary to determine whether an object has come into contact with the front door 30 based on the detection result of the touch sensor 50. In other words, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, steps S35 and S36 may be omitted.

- The front opening 21 and the rear opening 22 may be integrated. In other words, the vehicle 10 may be a pillarless vehicle that does not have a pillar 23. In this case, the portion through which the front door 30 opens and closes is the front opening 21, and the portion through which the rear door 40 opens and closes is the rear opening 22.

The front door 30 may be a sliding door that closes backward. In this case, it is preferable that the touch sensor 50 is located between the rear end of the front door 30 in the fully closed position and the front end of the rear door 40 in the fully closed position.

The rear door 40 may be a swing door whose rear end is supported on the vehicle body 20 via a door hinge. In other words, the front door 30 and the rear door 40 may be double-hinged doors.

- The touch sensor 50 can also be installed at the rear end of the front door 30. In this case, the front door 30 corresponds to an example of a "main door" and the rear door 40 corresponds to an example of a "sub-door."

- The door control device 200 may be configured as one or more processors that operate according to a computer program (software). The door control device 200 may also be configured as one or more dedicated hardware circuits, such as dedicated hardware (application specific integrated circuit: ASIC) that executes at least some of the various processes. Furthermore, the door control device 200 may be configured as a circuit that includes a combination of these. The processor includes a CPU and memory, such as RAM and ROM. The memory stores program code or instructions that are configured to cause the CPU to execute processes. Memory, i.e., storage media, includes any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

10: vehicle 20: vehicle body 21: front opening 22: rear opening 24: front striker 25: rear striker 30: front door (an example of a sub-door)
40...Rear door (an example of a main door)
50: touch sensor 60: front lock device 61: front latch mechanism 70: rear lock device 71: rear latch mechanism 80: front door drive unit (an example of a sub-door drive unit)
81: First front door drive unit (an example of a first sub-door drive unit)
82: Second front door drive unit (an example of a second sub-door drive unit)
90...Rear door drive unit (an example of a main door drive unit)
91...First rear door drive unit (an example of a first main door drive unit)
92: Second rear door drive unit (an example of a second main door drive unit)
200: Door control device 201: Door control unit 202: First contact determination unit 203: Second contact determination unit

Claims (3)

A door control device applied to a vehicle including: a vehicle body having a front opening and a rear opening aligned in a front-to-rear direction; a front door for opening and closing the front opening; a rear door for opening and closing the rear opening; a touch sensor installed at one of a rear end of the front door and a front end of the rear door; and, when one of the front door and the rear door on which the touch sensor is installed is defined as a main door and one of the front door and the rear door on which the touch sensor is not installed is defined as a sub-door, a main door drive unit that operates to open and close the main door, and a sub-door drive unit that operates to open and close the sub-door,
a door control unit that controls the main door drive unit and the sub door drive unit to open and close the main door and the sub door;
a contact determination unit that determines whether or not an object has contacted the touch sensor based on a detection result of the touch sensor,
The door control unit includes:
When performing a closing operation of the main door, if the contact determination unit determines that an object has contacted the main door, the main door is stopped;
When performing a closing operation of the sub door, if the main door is located at a fully closed position and if the contact determination unit determines that an object has contacted the main door, the sub door is stopped .
When the main door is not in a fully closed position when the sub door is closed, the closing operation of the sub door is put on hold until the main door is closed to the fully closed position.
Door control device. the vehicle includes a latch mechanism that, in a full-latched state, holds the sub-door in a fully closed position, in a half-latched state, holds the sub-door in a half-open position, and does not hold the sub-door in an unlatched state;
The sub-door drive unit includes a first sub-door drive unit that opens and closes the sub-door between a fully open position and a half-open position, and a second sub-door drive unit that closes the sub-door from the half-open position to a fully closed position by transitioning the latch mechanism from the half-latched state to the full-latched state,
a second contact determination unit that determines whether or not an object has come into contact with the sub door based on an increase in a load of the first sub door drive unit when the contact determination unit is a first contact determination unit;
2. The door control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the sub-door is operated to close, the door control unit stops the sub-door if the second contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the sub-door until the latch mechanism reaches the half-latched state, and stops the sub-door if the first contact determination unit determines that an object has come into contact with the sub-door after the latch mechanism reaches the half-latched state. The door control unit includes:
When it is determined that an object has come into contact with the main door during a closing operation of the main door, the main door is stopped and then the main door is opened;
3. The door control device according to claim 1 , wherein if it is determined that an object has come into contact with the sub-door when the sub-door is being closed, the sub-door is stopped and then the sub-door is opened.