JP7709322B2 - Vehicle door device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door device having a door that is installed in a vehicle and opened by a drive device.

2. Description of the Related Art It is known to provide a defrosting device having a heating element in the doors of vehicles such as automobiles in order to prevent malfunctions caused by freezing in cold regions.
As an example of technology relating to such vehicle door de-icing devices, Patent Document 1 describes how, when an opening switch provided on a handle for opening a vehicle door is activated, a heating means is activated to heat a key unit that locks the door based on the outside air temperature.
It is also known that vehicle doors can be opened by a drive device such as an electric actuator.
For example, Patent Document 2 describes a power sliding door that can be opened with the assistance of power, and in order to enable the door to be opened even when there is freezing or variation due to door installation, if it is determined that the vehicle door has not moved a certain amount of time after the door handle on the vehicle door is operated, a power assist mechanism is activated to provide auxiliary power.
It is also known to provide an object detection sensor for detecting entrapment in a door that is opened and closed by a drive device.
For example, Patent Document 3 describes a method in which an opening/closing body that opens and closes an opening in a vehicle body is driven by a driving means, and a capacitance sensor is provided for pinching detection. It also describes that in order to safely perform automatic closing control even when the capacitance sensor is frozen, if the proximity output signal value at the start of the automatic closing operation is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the outside air temperature is equal to or less than a predetermined freezing temperature, the automatic closing operation is performed.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-60611 JP 2007-162345 A JP 2009-161966 A

In the case of so-called power doors that are opened by a drive mechanism, moisture can form between the door and the vehicle body due to condensation caused by the temperature difference between the interior and exterior of the vehicle, and if freezing occurs at the seal, it can become difficult to open the door from inside the vehicle.
In particular, in the case of power doors, if the door does not move even when a request to open the door is given, for example by operating a switch to open the door, it can be difficult for the user to distinguish between freezing and a malfunction of the drive mechanism or the like, and there are concerns about the vehicle's condition, such as overheating of the drive mechanism or increased power consumption.
In response to this, it is possible to always activate the heating element when the door is opened in low temperature conditions, as in the technology for manual doors described in Patent Document 1, but in this case, there is a concern that increased power consumption will occur because the heating element will be activated even when the door is not frozen.
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door device that prevents malfunction of a door opened by a drive device due to freezing and reduces energy consumption when the door is not frozen.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle door device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle door device comprising: a door that is openably and closably attached to an opening provided in a vehicle body, a drive device that drives the door at least in the door-opening direction, and a drive control unit that operates the drive device in response to a door-opening request, and further comprising: a heat generating unit provided on at least one of the door and the opening, a freeze determination unit that determines whether the door is frozen when the drive device is operated, a heat generation control unit that causes the heat generating unit to generate heat in response to the establishment of the freeze determination, and an object detection sensor that detects the presence of an object between the door and the opening , and the freeze determination unit establishes the freeze determination in response to a change in output of the object detection sensor after the drive device starts operating .
According to this, when a freezing determination is made during operation of the drive device, the heat generating portion is made to generate heat, thereby melting the frozen areas and preventing malfunction of the door due to freezing.
Furthermore, if the freezing determination is not established, the heating portion is not operated, thereby making it possible to reduce energy consumption.
Furthermore, according to this, a freezing determination is made when it is determined from the output of the object detection sensor that the actual displacement amount between the door and the opening has not changed even though the door is being driven in the opening direction, so that a freezing determination can be made using an object detection sensor that is provided in a typical vehicle door device for purposes such as preventing pinching.
In addition to the above-mentioned freezing judgment based on the driving state of the driving device and the displacement in the opening and closing direction of the door,
By using this, reliability and fail-safety can be improved.
In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle door device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle door device comprising: a door that is openably and closably attached to an opening provided in a vehicle body, a drive device that drives the door at least in the door-opening direction, and a drive control unit that operates the drive device in response to a door-opening request, the vehicle door device comprising: a heat generating unit provided in at least one of the door and the opening, a freeze determination unit that determines whether the door is frozen when the drive device is operated, a heat generation control unit that causes the heat generating unit to generate heat in response to the freeze determination being established, and a navigation device that estimates the arrival time of the vehicle to reach the destination, wherein the heat generation control unit causes the heat generating unit to perform pre-heating when a predetermined low temperature state is reached and the arrival time to the destination is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
According to this, when a freezing determination is made during operation of the drive device, the heat generating portion is made to generate heat, thereby melting the frozen areas and preventing malfunction of the door due to freezing.
Furthermore, if the freezing determination is not established, the heating portion is not operated, thereby making it possible to reduce energy consumption.
In addition, by having the heating section generate pre-heat before arriving at the destination in low temperature conditions, the time it takes for the heating section to melt the ice when the door is opened after arriving at the destination can be shortened, improving convenience for the user.

In the present invention, the freezing determination unit may be configured to make the freezing determination based on a drive state of the drive device and a displacement of the door in an opening/closing direction.
According to this, a freezing determination is made when a displacement of a specified amount or more in the door opening/closing direction is not detected even though the drive device is being driven, thereby enabling accurate freezing determination to be made with a simple configuration.
Here, the driving state of the driving device may be, for example, a state of electricity (current value, etc.) supplied to the driving device. Furthermore, the displacement of the door in the opening/closing direction can be appropriately detected using various sensors.

As described above, the present invention provides a vehicle door device that prevents malfunctions caused by freezing of the door that is opened by the drive device, and reduces energy consumption when the door is not frozen.

1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle having an embodiment of a vehicle door device to which the present invention is applied; 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle door device according to an embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the vehicle door device according to the embodiment. 4 is a timing chart showing the transition of each parameter during a door opening operation in the vehicle door device of the embodiment, showing a non-frozen state. 5 is a timing chart showing a transition of each parameter during a door opening operation in the vehicle door device of the embodiment, showing a frozen state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle door device to which the present invention is applied will be described.
The vehicle door device according to the embodiment is a so-called power sliding door device that is provided in an automobile such as a passenger car and slides open and closed by an electric door drive motor.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle having a vehicle door device according to an embodiment.
The vehicle 1 is, for example, a passenger car having a so-called two-box type vehicle shape.
The vehicle 1 has a vehicle compartment (cabin) 10 which is a space in which passengers and the like are accommodated.
A door opening 20 is formed in the side portion of the cabin 10 and is used for passengers getting in and out of the vehicle.
Further, the door opening 20 is provided with a power sliding door device 100 which is a vehicle door device of the embodiment.

The power sliding door device 100 is composed of a door 110, a door drive motor 120, a power transmission mechanism 130, a power supply device 140, a door heater 150, a pressure sensor 160, a door control unit 170, etc.

The door 110 is a door body that is provided in the door opening 20 so as to be able to be opened and closed.
The door 110 is a so-called sliding door that transitions from a closed state in which the door opening 20 is essentially blocked to an open state by translationally displacing relative to the vehicle body outward in the vehicle width direction and then sliding toward the rear of the vehicle along the vehicle fore-and-aft direction.

The door drive motor 120 is a drive device that drives the door 110 to open and close.
The door drive motor 120 is configured as an electric actuator having a motor body such as a DC motor, a reduction gear device that reduces the output of the motor, and the like.
The power transmission mechanism 130 mechanically transmits the output of the door drive motor 120 to the door 110 as a driving force in the opening and closing direction.
The power transmission mechanism 130 is provided with a displacement sensor 131 .
When the power transmission mechanism 130 displaces the door 110 relative to the door opening 20, the displacement sensor 131 generates pulse signals the number of which corresponds to the amount of displacement.

The power supply device 140 supplies driving power to the door drive motor 120 and the like.
The power supply device 140 includes a battery that supplies power to various in-vehicle electrical devices.
As the battery, various types of secondary batteries such as a lithium ion rechargeable battery, a nickel-hydrogen rechargeable battery, a lead storage battery, etc. can be used.

The door heater 150 is a heat generating portion disposed, for example, at the upper portion of the door opening 20 so as to be adjacent to the upper edge portion of the door 110 when in the closed state.
The door heater 150 is a heater such as an electric resistance heater that generates heat when power is supplied from the power supply device 140 .

The pressure sensor 160 is an object detection sensor (a so-called entrapment sensor) that detects a foreign object interposed between the front edge of the door 110 and the front edge of the door opening 20 .
The pressure sensor 160 is disposed along the leading edge of the door 110 and is adapted to be compressed by the front surface of the door opening 20 when the door 110 is in the closed position.
The pressure sensor 160 is configured such that its output voltage changes when it comes into contact with the leading edge of the door opening 20 or with any foreign object.
The pressure sensor 160 is configured, for example, so that an output voltage increases when pressure is applied from an object.
Even when the door 110 is in a closed state, the pressure sensor 160 is pressed against the edge of the door opening 20, causing the output voltage to increase.

The door control unit 170 controls the supply and cut-off of power from the power supply device 140 to the door drive motor 120 and the door heater 150 .
The door control unit 170 can be configured as, for example, a microcomputer having an information processing section such as a CPU, a storage section such as a RAM or a ROM, an input/output interface, and a bus connecting these.
The door control unit 170 is connected to a door opening/closing switch 171 which is an operation unit through which a user such as a passenger inputs a door open request or a door close request, and an outside air temperature sensor 172 which detects the outside air temperature.
The door control unit 170 also has the functions of a drive control unit, a freezing determination unit, and a heat generation control unit of the present invention.
The function and operation of the door control unit 170 will be described in detail later.

The door control unit 170 is connected to a navigation device 200 .
The navigation device 200 includes, for example, a positioning device such as a GPS, a database that stores map data, and the like.
The navigation device 200 has a function of informing a user such as a driver of the current location, providing route guidance to a preset destination, and calculating an estimated arrival time to the destination.
The door control unit 170 of the power sliding door device 100 of the embodiment has the function of passing electricity through the heating section 150 for a predetermined period of time to generate heat when the predicted arrival time to the destination set in the navigation device 200 is equal to or less than a preset threshold value and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 172 is a low temperature state equal to or less than a predetermined value, thereby preheating the upper part of the door 110 and the door opening 20 and melting frozen areas.

Next, the operation of the vehicle door device according to the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle door device according to the embodiment.
Each step will be explained in order below.

<Step S01: Door Open Switch ON Determination>
The door control unit 170 determines whether or not the door open switch 171 is turned on (whether or not a door open request has been made).
If the door open switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process ends (returns).

<Step S02: Determining if the circuit is normal>
The door control unit 170 uses known self-diagnosis techniques to determine whether the circuits of the door drive motor 120, power supply device 140, door heater 150, each switch, and sensors are normal (whether there are any faults such as broken wires).
If the circuit condition is normal, the process proceeds to step S03, otherwise a predetermined fault code is output and the series of processes is ended (returned).

<Step S03: Door Closed Position Determination>
The door control unit 170 determines, based on the output of the displacement sensor 131, whether or not the door 110 is in a closed position that closes the door opening 20.
If the door 110 is in the closed position, the process proceeds to step S04, otherwise the series of processes ends (returns).

<Step S04: Door drive motor on>
The door control unit 170 as a drive control section turns on the power supply to the door drive motor 120, and starts driving the door 110 in the opening direction by the door drive motor 120 and the power transmission mechanism 130.
Then, proceed to step S05.

<Step S05: Door Displacement Amount Estimation (Current)>
The door control unit 170 monitors the current value to the door drive motor 120 and calculates an estimated displacement amount of the door 110 based on the acquired current value.
The estimated displacement of the door 110 can be calculated, for example, based on correlation data between the current value history acquired in advance and the displacement of the door 110 when the power sliding door device 100 performs an opening operation of the door 110 under normal conditions (when not frozen).
Then, proceed to step S06.

<Step S06: Detecting actual door displacement amount>
The door control unit 170 detects the actual displacement amount (real displacement amount) of the door 110 based on the output (number of pulses, etc.) of the displacement sensor 131 .
Then, proceed to step S07.

<Step S07: Door Freeze Determination>
The door control unit 170 as a freezing determination section executes a door freezing determination to determine whether or not the door opening 20 and the door 110 are frozen and stuck together.
For example, when the following conditions are met, the door control unit 170 establishes a door freezing determination.
(1) The outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 172 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, and
(2) When any of the following is satisfied: (a) the state in which the deviation between the actual displacement amount and the estimated displacement amount of the door 110 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value continues for equal to or greater than a predetermined time t1; (b) the state in which the output voltage of the pressure sensor 160 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (a state in which the door is pressed against the edge of the door opening 20) continues for equal to or greater than a predetermined time t2; or (c) the elapsed time since the start of energization of the door heater 150 is less than a predetermined time t3. If the freezing determination is made, proceed to step S08; otherwise, the drive of the door drive motor 120 is resumed, the series of processes is ended (returned), and normal control is resumed.

<Step S08: Door drive motor off>
The door control unit 170 cuts off the power supply to the door drive motor 120 to prevent the door drive motor 120 from overheating.
Then, proceed to step S09.

<Step S09: Door heater on>
The door control unit 170 as a heat generation control unit turns on the power supply to the door heater 150 , operates the door heater 150 , and starts heating the upper part of the door opening 20 .
As a result, the ice between the door opening 20 and the door 110 is melted, and the water generated by the melting of the ice flows below the door 110 and melts the ice present in the flow path.
Then, the process returns to step S07 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the transition of each parameter during a door opening operation in the vehicle door device of the embodiment, showing a non-frozen state.
In Figure 4, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the on/off state of the opening operation by the door opening/closing switch 171, the on/off state of the door drive motor, the current of the door drive motor, the pulse signal of the displacement sensor 131, the displacement amount of the door 110, and the output voltage of the pressure sensor 160.
When the door is not frozen, when the user inputs a door open request from the door open/close switch 171 and the door drive motor is turned on, the displacement of the door 110 immediately increases linearly.
In response to this, the displacement sensor 131 repeatedly outputs a pulse signal at a substantially constant cycle. At this time, the actual displacement amount and the estimated displacement amount match.
Furthermore, the output voltage of the pressure sensor 160 decreases as the pressure sensor 160 moves away from the front edge of the door opening 20, and eventually reaches a state where it does not detect pressure due to contact with an object.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the transition of each parameter during a door opening operation in the vehicle door device of the embodiment, showing a frozen state.
In FIG. 5, in addition to the same contents as in FIG. 4, the vertical axis indicates whether the door heater 150 is on or off.
In the frozen state shown here as an example, when the user inputs a door open request from the door opening/closing switch 171 and the door drive motor 120 is turned on, the door 110 displaces a small amount in the opening direction, but the door opening 20 and the door 110 are frozen, preventing the displacement from progressing any further.
At this time, in a low temperature state in which the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 172 is below a predetermined value, the door control unit 170 performs a freezing determination based on the deviation between the estimated displacement amount and the actual displacement amount and the output of the pressure sensor 160, as described above.
When the freezing determination is established, the door control unit 170 starts to supply electricity to the door heater 150, and starts melting the ice by the heat generated by the door heater 150.
At this time, the door control unit 170 cuts off (turns off) the power supply to the door drive motor 120 to prevent the door drive motor 120 from overheating.
Thereafter, the door heater 150 is energized for a predetermined time t3 or more, and when the freezing determination is no longer established, the door control unit 170 turns off the door heater 150 and resumes (turns on) the energization of the door drive motor 120.
As a result, the door 110 starts to move relative to the door opening 20 and transitions to an open state.
The occurrence of an increase in the actual displacement amount of the door 110 is detected based on the pulse signal of the displacement sensor 131 and the output voltage of the pressure sensor 160 .

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A freezing determination is performed when the door drive motor 120 is operated, and if the freezing determination is established, the door heater 150 is turned on to generate heat, thereby melting the frozen areas and preventing malfunction of the door 110 (inability to open the door) due to freezing.
Furthermore, if the freezing determination is not established, the door heater 150 is not operated, thereby making it possible to reduce power consumption of the vehicle 1.
(2) By determining whether the door 110 is frozen based on the deviation between the estimated displacement amount estimated from the current value of the door drive motor 120 and the actual displacement amount of the door 110 detected by the displacement sensor 131, it is possible to accurately determine whether the door 110 is frozen using a simple configuration.
(3) A pressure sensor 160 is provided at the front edge of the door 110 to detect foreign objects between the door opening 20, and a freezing determination is made when the output of the pressure sensor 160 determines that the actual displacement amount between the door 110 and the door opening 20 has not changed even when the door 110 is driven in the opening direction. This makes it possible to make a freezing determination using an object detection sensor that is provided in a typical vehicle door device for purposes such as preventing entrapment.
(4) When the temperature is low and the time until arrival at the destination estimated by the navigation device 200 is within a predetermined time, the door heater 150 is caused to perform pre-heating. This shortens the time it takes for the door heater 150 to melt the ice when the door is opened after arrival at the destination, thereby improving user convenience.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible, which are also within the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The configurations of the vehicle door device and the vehicle are not limited to the above-described embodiment and may be modified as appropriate.
(2) In the embodiment, the door is, as an example, a sliding door provided on the side of the vehicle body. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to, for example, a swing door that swings open and closed around a rotation axis, or a tailgate provided at the rear of the vehicle body.
(3) In the embodiment, the door heater serving as the heat generating portion is an electric resistance heater as an example. However, the configuration of the heat generating portion is not limited to this and can be changed as appropriate.
Furthermore, the installation location is not limited to the top of the door opening 20, but may be on the side or bottom.
Also, instead of or in addition to the configuration in which the heat generating portion is provided on the door opening side, the heat generating portion may be provided on the door side.
(4) The specific method for determining whether or not the object is to be frozen is not limited to that described in the embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate.
For example, in the embodiment, an estimated displacement amount is calculated from the current value passed through the door drive motor 120, and a freezing determination is made from the deviation from the actual displacement amount detected by the displacement sensor 131. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a freezing determination may be made when the actual displacement amount within a predetermined time after the actuator starts operating is equal to or less than a threshold value.
(5) In the embodiment, the object detection sensor is a pressure sensor as an example. However, the object detection sensor is not limited to this. For example, a capacitance sensor, an optical sensor, an acoustic sensor, a mechanical switch, or the like may be used.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 vehicle 10 vehicle interior 20 door opening 100 power sliding door device 110 door 120 door drive motor 130 power transmission mechanism 131 displacement sensor 140 power supply device 150 door heater 160 pressure sensor 170 door control unit 171 door opening/closing switch 172 outside air temperature sensor 200 navigation device

Claims (3)

a door that is attached to an opening provided in a body of a vehicle so as to be able to be opened and closed;
A drive device that drives the door at least in the door opening direction;
A vehicle door device comprising: a drive control unit that operates the drive device in response to a door opening request,
a heating portion provided on at least one of the door and the opening;
a freezing determination unit that determines whether the door is frozen when the drive device is in operation;
a heat generation control unit that causes the heat generation unit to generate heat in response to the establishment of the freezing determination ;
an object detection sensor that detects an object being present between the door and the opening;
Equipped with
The freezing determination unit establishes the freezing determination in response to a change in output of the object detection sensor after the drive device starts operating.
A vehicle door device comprising: a door that is attached to an opening provided in a body of a vehicle so as to be able to be opened and closed;
A drive device that drives the door at least in the door opening direction;
A vehicle door device comprising: a drive control unit that operates the drive device in response to a door opening request,
a heating portion provided on at least one of the door and the opening;
a freezing determination unit that determines whether the door is frozen when the drive device is in operation;
a heat generation control unit that causes the heat generation unit to generate heat in response to the establishment of the freezing determination ;
a navigation device for estimating a time required for a vehicle to reach a destination;
Equipped with
The heat generation control unit causes the heat generation unit to perform pre-heating when the temperature is low and the arrival time to the destination is equal to or shorter than a predetermined value.
A vehicle door device comprising: 3. The vehicle door apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the freezing determination unit performs the freezing determination based on a drive state of the drive device and a displacement of the door in an opening/closing direction.