Motor drive device for vehicle sliding door

Abstract

A motor drive device (10) for moving a movable vehicle sliding door comprises: an activatable electric motor (12), a force transmission device (24) operatively connected to the vehicle sliding door and the electric motor (12) for transmitting the driving force provided by the electric motor (12) to the vehicle sliding door, a sensor (28) for at least determining the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door, and an electronic control unit (32) for activating at least the electric motor (12). The invention proposes that a switching clutch (18) connected to the force transmission device (24) and connectable to the electric motor (12) is arranged to smoothly connect the electric motor (12) and the force transmission device (24) independently of the load, and that the electronic control unit (32) is arranged to, when an operator applies a force exceeding a predetermined force threshold to the vehicle sliding door during a powered movement, increase the speed of the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined speed value by increasing the transmitted driving force or to separate the force transmission device (24) from the electric motor (12) by means of the switching clutch (18) according to the operator's preselection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a motor drive device for moving a movable vehicle sliding door, the device comprising an activatable electric motor, a force transmission device operatively connected to the vehicle sliding door and the electric motor for transmitting the driving force provided by the electric motor to the vehicle sliding door, a sensor for determining at least the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door, and an electronic control unit for activating at least the electric motor. The invention also relates to a method for operating such a motor drive device during movement of a movable vehicle sliding door between an open position and a closed position. Background Art

[0002] In the field of vehicle engineering, equipped vehicles, for example vans and passenger cars, are known which have sliding doors which are arranged, in particular, on the sides of the vehicle and which allow access to the vehicle interior even under restricted lateral spatial conditions.

[0003] The sliding door can be operated manually. From the prior art, sliding doors are known which can be moved between an open state and a closed state by a powered drive, in particular an electric drive.

[0004] In vehicle engineering it is particularly important to keep the weight and costs of additional power drives as low as possible.

[0005] For this purpose, a vehicle sliding door opening and closing control device is described in patent document US 6,037,727 A, which is used to open the vehicle sliding door installed on the side of the vehicle body. The opening is carried out by a power driver such as a motor. The purpose of the device is to reduce the load applied to the sliding door, which moves along its closing direction from its fully open position, wherein the device is reduced in size and has a lower weight and lower production cost. In addition, when the door is manually closed, the actuation force is reduced. The control device has a power driver such as a motor, a sliding door opened and closed by a sliding door opening mechanism and a sliding door closing mechanism, a connecting device that intermittently transmits the driving force of the power driver to the sliding door opening mechanism and the sliding door closing mechanism, a tilt determination device that detects the position of the vehicle, and a sliding door control device that controls the power driver and the connecting device to set the driving force transmitted to the sliding door opening mechanism and the sliding door closing mechanism. If the fully opened control is performed and it is determined that the vehicle is parked on a horizontal ground or tilted upward, the sliding door stops immediately before its fully opened position.

[0006] The opening / closing speed of a power-driven vehicle sliding door, which is typically 0.2 m / s, is perceived by the vehicle user as being slow compared to the typical opening / closing speed in manual operation of 1±0.5 m / s. Therefore, the user expects to open / close the vehicle sliding door faster during the power-driven opening / closing movement of the vehicle sliding door without the power drive. In this case, it should be noted that in the case of a transition from the power-driven operating mode to the manual operation, the positional relationship between the vehicle sliding door and the power drive should be maintained as much as possible so that the control system can use this positional relationship as much as possible when returning to the power-driven operating mode.

[0007] As a solution, patent document US 7,937,893 B2 proposes a sliding door assembly that can be activated to move the vehicle door between an open and a closed position. The assembly includes a motor that can be activated in a reversible manner to move the vehicle door to one of an open position and a closed position. A handle is attached to the vehicle door, and a handle sensor is provided to detect the grip of the handle. If the handle is gripped, a control unit activates the motor to move the vehicle door when the handle sensor is triggered without movement of the vehicle door and when the handle sensor is released. Movement of the vehicle door by at least a predetermined distance with the triggering or release of the handle sensor has the effect that the controller deactivates the motor, which enables manual movement of the vehicle door.

[0008] In addition, patent document US 5,644,869A describes a motor drive that moves a movable closure between an open position and a closed position relative to an entrance that defines a passage through a barrier wall. The motor drive may include: an elongated drive element connected to the movable closure, and a ball screw drive assembly, the ball screw drive assembly being used to selectively move the drive element in a longitudinal direction so as to position the movable closure between an open position and a closed position relative to the passage through the barrier wall. The barrier wall may define at least one portion of a fixed structure or vehicle, wherein the passage enables access to the interior of the structure or vehicle. The movable closure includes a sliding door, a hatch, a window, a roof, etc. The elongated drive element may be an assembled drive element having at least one gear or toothed element that extends in a spiral shape around the core of the drive element with evenly spaced turns to form a rigid or spring-loaded spiral portion that can be driven by an operative connection with the ball screw drive assembly. For example, a flexible portion of a push / pull cable can be attached to one end of the spiral element to implement a motor drive that moves the movable closure along a curved or other non-linear path. The motor drive implements the desired reversibility, manual operation, and override operation of linear and curved actuation.

[0009] Since relatively high forces need to be applied to move a manually operable sliding door into the fully closed position, in particular since the sliding door usually has to move against the spring force generated by the seal near the fully closed position, motor-driven closing element arrangements have been proposed in the prior art.

[0010] For example, patent document US 5,979,114A proposes a motor-driven system that automatically moves and closes a sliding door in the following manner: a controller and a motor driver move the door along the entire fixed path during the opening and closing movement, and then moves the U-shaped pin or closing element on the door to the main locking position via the secondary locking position and ensures complete door fixation and door sealing. The motor-driven system physically pulls the door and the closing element or U-shaped pin connected thereto into the U-shaped pin or closing element corresponding thereto connected to the frame defining the opening, the U-shaped pin or closing element passes through the second position and enters the main locking position, and then starts the closing element movement, which is driven by the motor force to move the door into the weather strip seal of the closed opening. The central rear suspension roller track is changed so that it accommodates a push / pull drive element, and a shifting device is connected to the track so as to pull the door into the open or closed position, respectively. The advantage of the motor-driven system is that reaching the main locking position beyond the second position over the entire path pulls the roller assembly and the door-U-shaped pin assembly into the motor-operated closing element. Earlier known motor drive systems require high vibration torques to ensure proper closing of sliding door assemblies for minivan type vehicles.Motor Operated Closing Elements of Motor Drive Systems Actuate the motor operated closing elements to pull the vehicle door into the seal.

[0011] Furthermore, in patent document US 20060175845 A1 a driven closing element assembly is described, which causes the final positioning of a vehicle closing element, such as a vehicle sliding door or a vehicle door articulated using hinges. The closing element assembly comprises a fixed frame and a closing element, which is mounted on a closing plate so as to selectively engage with bolts attached to the vehicle closing element to move the vehicle closing element from a transient position to a stable position. A guide device connects the frame and the closing plate so as to simultaneously move the closing plate in translation and rotation between the end boundaries of the path, thereby generating a linear displacement of the closing element. The positioning element selectively displaces the stop plate between the end boundaries in response to a control signal. Finally, in the absence of a control signal, a locking unit fixes the closing plate in a fixed position.

[0012] In addition, patent document US 5,755,468 A describes a driven closing element device for a movable closing assembly, which includes a fixed frame that defines an entrance through a barrier wall. A movable closing element (sliding door, roof, hatchback, etc.) is attached to the frame to move along a fixed path between a first end boundary of the movement and a second end boundary of the movement, at the first end boundary the closing element is in a closed position blocking the entrance, and at the second end boundary the closing element is in an open position. The closing element device may include a closing element that is attached to one of the frame and the closing element. A locking mechanism is attached to the other of the frame and the closing element so that the locking mechanism can engage with the closing element to releasably lock the closing element in the closed position. A retaining device is provided to retain the closing element relative to the locking mechanism for movement between the first position and the second position. The pretensioning element presses the retaining device in the direction of the first position. The drive mechanism causes the retaining device to move out of the first position in the direction of the second position against the pretensioning of the pretensioning element. The drive mechanism may also selectively release the retaining device when the drive mechanism is in the second position so that the closing element pivots back to the primary locking position in response to the pressure of the pretensioning element so that the closing element dynamically moves out of the secondary locking position into the primary locking position of the locking mechanism.

[0013] In view of the cited prior art, the field of motor drives for moving a movable vehicle sliding door at least between an open position and a closed position still offers room for improvement.

[0014] Conventional power-driven vehicle sliding doors only provide manual operation when a request is initiated through a switch or handle or similar human-machine interface. This means that it is not possible to change from power-driven operation to manual operation during power-driven operation.

[0015] Compared to the typical opening / closing speeds in the case of manual operation, the opening / closing speeds of a powered vehicle sliding door are often considered by vehicle users to be too slow. On the one hand, the use of a higher electrical power of the motor drive increases the electrical energy consumption; on the other hand, the increased opening / closing speeds of a powered vehicle sliding door conflict with the efforts to limit the potentially acting clamping forces and the desired safety effects. The application of high braking forces, which exceed the forces acting in normal operation of a vehicle sliding door by several times, requires a corresponding design and this is contrary to the requirements of compactness of design and the prevailing cost pressures. Summary of the invention

[0016] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a motor drive device for moving a movable vehicle sliding door at least between an open position and a closed position, which allows at least a change from a powered operation to a manual operation during a powered operation, and at least the speed of the vehicle sliding door is increased relative to the powered drive by manual operation.

[0017] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a motor drive according to the invention. This object is also achieved by a method according to the invention for operating such a motor drive during movement of a movable vehicle sliding door between an open position and a closed position.

[0018] It should be noted that the features and measures listed separately in the following description can be combined with each other in any technically reasonable manner and disclose other embodiments of the present invention. The description also embodies the features of the present invention and illustrates the present invention in particular in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0019] The motor drive device for moving a movable vehicle sliding door according to the present invention comprises:

[0020] - a startable electric motor,

[0021] - a force transmission device operatively connected to the vehicle sliding door and the electric motor to transmit the driving force provided by the electric motor to the vehicle sliding door,

[0022] - a sensor for determining at least the instantaneous position of a sliding door of the vehicle, and

[0023] - an electronic control unit for starting at least the electric motor.

[0024] In addition, a switching clutch is provided, which is connected to the force transmission device and can be connected to the electric motor, the switching clutch being used to smoothly connect the electric motor to the force transmission device regardless of load. The electronic control unit is configured to, when an operator applies a force exceeding a predetermined force threshold to the vehicle sliding door during a powered drive movement, increase the speed of the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined speed value by increasing the transmitted drive force or decouple the force transmission device and the electric motor by means of the switching clutch, depending on the operator's preselection.

[0025] Within the meaning of the present invention, a “vehicle” is to be understood to mean in particular a passenger car, a van, a truck or a bus.

[0026] An “electronic control unit” within the meaning of the present invention is to be understood as an electronic computer unit which in particular comprises at least one electronic regulating circuit and / or at least one electronic control circuit.

[0027] The term "operatively connected" is to be understood in the context of the present invention to mean in particular that objects which are operatively connected are connected to one another in such a way that a transmission of forces and / or moments and / or torques is possible between the objects. In this case, the transmission can take place by direct contact as well as indirectly via intermediate elements.

[0028] The term “provided for this purpose” within the meaning of the present invention is to be understood as meaning, in particular, specially programmed, designed or arranged for this purpose.

[0029] With appropriate preselection by the operator, the operator may utilize the motor drive to open or close the vehicle sliding door at a speed having a predetermined speed value that is increased relative to the speed in normal operation.

[0030] The execution of movement at increased speed may also be controlled by the application of a level of force applied by the operator, by providing more than one force threshold and a predetermined speed value determined by reaching one of the force thresholds.

[0031] Under the situation that the operator makes another preselection, by switching the clutch, the operator can manually open or close the vehicle sliding door at a higher speed relative to normal operation. In this way, it is possible to change from power-driven operation to manual operation during power-driven operation.

[0032] The operator's preselection can be performed, for example, by setting a switch position on the electronic control unit.

[0033] The motor drive may be configured to move the movable vehicle sliding door at least between an open position and a closed position of the vehicle sliding door.

[0034] For example, the speed of a vehicle sliding door can be calculated from the signal of the sensor to determine the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door by calculating the differential quotient.

[0035] At least one sensor for determining the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door is preferably arranged on the force transmission device. Thus, the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door can be determined independently of the state of the electric motor. Thus, if the force exerted by the operator on the vehicle sliding door decreases, a quick and smooth transition to a powered operating mode can be achieved.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment of the motor drive, the switching clutch is designed as a friction clutch and an electrically operated actuator unit which can be activated by the electronic control unit is provided for actuating the clutch. In this embodiment, a sensor arranged on the force transmission device, i.e. on the output side of the electric motor, is advantageously sufficient to determine the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door.

[0037] In a further preferred embodiment of the motor drive, the switching clutch is designed as an interlocking clutch. Furthermore, at least an additional sensor for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor and an electric actuator unit for actuating the clutch, which can be activated by the electronic control unit, are provided. In this case, the electronic control unit is configured to activate the actuator unit only if the speed difference calculated by the sensor for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor and the sensor for determining the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door is below a predetermined threshold value.

[0038] In this way, synchronization of the speed on the drive side of the electric motor with the speed on the output side of the electric motor can be performed, whereby using an interlocking clutch that cannot be actuatable under load has the known advantages of a compact design of the clutch and actuator unit.

[0039] In an embodiment of the motor drive, the electronic control unit is configured to receive an output signal of at least one sensor in order to configure the force exerted by the electric motor on the vehicle sliding door as a function of the received output signal. In this case, the at least one sensor is designed as an acceleration sensor or a position sensor or is configured to determine a drive voltage of the electric motor or to determine a temperature.

[0040] By using a sensor designed as an acceleration sensor or position sensor, the forces acting on the vehicle sliding door due to the earth's gravity can be taken into account, for example, in order to determine the drive force provided by the electric motor.

[0041] The output signal of the at least one sensor designed as an acceleration or position sensor can be provided, for example, by an ABS (anti-lock braking system) / ESC (electronic stability control) system of the vehicle on which the sliding door is mounted.

[0042] By using a sensor for determining the drive voltage of the electric motor, variations in the drive voltage of the electric motor may be taken into account to determine the drive force provided by the electric motor and uniform movement of the vehicle sliding door may be achieved by the motor drive despite the variations.

[0043] Since the viscosity of the lubricant usually increases at very low external temperatures and the stiffness of the elastomer used to seal the vehicle sliding door increases, the driving force provided by the electric motor for moving the vehicle sliding door can increase significantly. In addition, the electrical properties of the electric motor, such as the impedance of the windings, are also temperature-dependent.

[0044] By using a sensor designed as a temperature sensor, temperature influences can be taken into account for determining the drive force provided by the electric motor and a uniform movement of the vehicle sliding door can be achieved by the motor drive despite variations. In this case, the temperature to be determined can be the outside temperature and / or the vehicle interior temperature.

[0045] The output signal of at least one sensor can be provided as an already analyzed signal. However, the electronic control unit can also be provided for analyzing the raw signal of the acceleration sensor or position sensor, the sensor for determining the drive voltage of the electric motor and / or the temperature sensor itself.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of the motor drive, at least one sensor for determining a drive voltage of the electric motor and / or at least one temperature sensor is provided in the motor drive, whereby the drive force provided by the electric motor can be determined particularly easily.

[0047] In an advantageous embodiment of the motor drive, the electronic control unit comprises at least one processor unit and a digital data storage unit, the processor unit having data access to the digital data storage unit. In this way, an automatic and reliable execution of the process for which the electronic control unit is provided can be achieved.

[0048] In particular, the processor unit and / or the digital data storage unit may be part of a microcontroller. Such microcontrollers are currently commercially available in many variants at a cost-effective price. The predetermined threshold value disclosed in the present application may advantageously be stored in the digital data storage unit, thereby enabling fast data access.

[0049] Preferably, the electronic control unit may be arranged to periodically store the output signals received from the sensors and / or the received measured values ​​determined from the output signals in the digital data storage unit. In this way, the signals received from the sensors and / or the measured values ​​determined may be used to determine the driving force provided by the electric motor, even if the vehicle has been switched off or the ignition of the vehicle has been switched off during this period.

[0050] In another aspect of the invention, a method is proposed for operating a motor drive device according to the invention during movement of a movable vehicle sliding door between an open position and a closed position.

[0051] The method comprises at least the following steps:

[0052] - determine the preselection made by the operator,

[0053] - using the stored sensor output signal to determine the force required to move the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined normal speed,

[0054] - comparing the difference between the determined required force and the force instantaneously delivered by the electric motor with a predetermined force threshold,

[0055] - in the event that the operator preselects the first option and the difference between the determined required force and the force instantaneously delivered by the electric motor is above a predetermined force threshold, increasing the speed of the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined increased speed value by increasing the transmitted drive force,

[0056] - in the case of the determined preselection of the first option, and in the case where the difference between the determined force required to increase the speed and the instantaneous output force of the electric motor is close to zero, activating the electric motor to lower the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined normal speed, and

[0057] - in the event of a determined operator preselection of the second option and in the event that the difference between the determined required force and the instantaneous output force of the electric motor is above a predetermined force threshold, activating the switching clutch to decouple the force transmission device from the electric motor.

[0058] In the meaning of the present invention, a “force difference close to zero” is to be understood as a difference of less than 20%, preferably less than 10%, particularly preferably less than 5%, of a predetermined force threshold value.

[0059] By means of the method according to the invention, an operator can use an electric motor drive to open or close a vehicle sliding door at a higher speed than normal operation during a powered movement of the vehicle sliding door between an open position and a closed position. In addition, an operator can manually open or close the vehicle sliding door at a higher speed relative to normal operation. In this way, a change from powered operation to manual operation during powered operation can be achieved.

[0060] The force output instantaneously by the electric motor may for example be determined by the current which is supplied to the electric motor as a result of activation of the electronic control unit.

[0061] The determination and comparison steps are preferably performed with regular repetition, wherein the time interval of the repetitions is adapted to the movement speed of the vehicle sliding door.

[0062] Independently of the determined preselection, upon reaching a predetermined position of the vehicle sliding door, provision can be made for activation of a brake unit which serves to decelerate the vehicle sliding door to a standstill in the open position or the closed position.

[0063] In one embodiment of the method, the step of determining the force required to move the vehicle sliding door comprises combining sensor output signals relating to at least one of the measured changing temperature, the tilt position of the vehicle and the driving voltage of the electric motor. In this way, the force to be determined to achieve a predetermined normal speed of the vehicle sliding door can be adapted to changes in external conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following description of the drawings.

[0065] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a motor drive device for moving a movable vehicle sliding door according to the present invention;

[0066] Figure 2 Shown according to Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the motor drive device rotating 90°;

[0067] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing an alternative motor drive arrangement for moving a movable vehicle sliding door according to the present invention; and

[0068] Figure 4 The method for operating according to the present invention is shown. Figure 1 A flow chart of an embodiment of a method of a motor drive device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] In the various figures, identical components are always provided with the same reference symbols, so that they are also described overall only once.

[0070] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a motor drive device 10 according to the present invention for moving a movable vehicle sliding door (not shown) having a mass of about 60 kg, which is arranged on one side of a small truck, is shown. The vehicle sliding door is movable between an open position, in which the vehicle sliding door provides access to the vehicle interior having a maximum width, and a closed position, in which the access to the vehicle interior is blocked and the vehicle sliding door is secured by a closing device.

[0071] The motor drive 10 comprises an activatable electric motor 12 and an electronic control unit 32 for activating the electric motor 12. The electric motor 12 has a drive shaft 14 which is fixedly connected to a worm of a worm gear 16 known per se.

[0072] The motor drive 10 further includes a force transmission device 24 for transmitting the driving force provided by the electric motor 12 to the vehicle sliding door. The force transmission device 24 has a cylindrical cable drum 26 equipped with a channel and a cable, the cable being guided in the channel and operatively connected to the vehicle sliding door (not shown).

[0073] A switching clutch 18 is provided between the worm gear 16 and the cable drum 26 of the power transmission device 24 for connecting the electric motor 12 to the power transmission device 24 in a smooth and load-independent manner. The switching clutch 18 is designed as a friction clutch, i.e. as a belt clutch, wherein the drive side of the clutch 18 is fixedly connected to the worm wheel of the worm gear 16 and the output side of the clutch 18 is fixedly connected to the cable drum 26.

[0074] The force transmission device 24 can be operatively connected to or disconnected from the drive shaft 14 of the electric motor 12 by means of the switching clutch 18. For this purpose, an electrically operated actuator unit 38 is provided in the motor drive 10 for activating the switching clutch 18, which actuator unit 38 can be activated by the electronic control unit 32. The worm gear 16 causes self-restraint in the operatively connected state.

[0075] The actuator unit 38 has an electrically operated actuator motor 40, the drive shaft of which is connected via a further worm gear 42 and a main shaft to a cup spring assembly 44, which includes a rod 46 ( Figure 2 ). This arrangement causes self-inhibition, so that the actuator motor 40 does not have to be continuously supplied with current.

[0076] The motor drive 10 has a sensor 28 ( Figure 1 ), which are used to determine the instantaneous position of the vehicle door, are arranged on the cable drum 26 of the force transmission device 24. The sensor 28 can be designed, for example, as a Hall sensor group with a defined phase shift. Such Hall sensors are known in the prior art and therefore do not need to be described in detail here.

[0077] The electronic control unit 32 comprises a processor unit 34 and a digital data storage unit 36, to which the processor unit 34 has data access. As will be described in detail below, the electronic control unit 32 is set according to a preselected predetermined function, which can be performed by an operator, for example by selecting a position of an operating element.

[0078] In the case of a first option preselection, the electronic control unit 32 is configured to increase the speed of the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined speed value by increasing the transmitted driving force when an operator applies a force exceeding a predetermined force threshold to the vehicle sliding door during a powered movement.

[0079] In the case of a second preselection, the electronic control unit 32 is configured to decouple the force transmission device 24 and the electric motor 12 by means of the switching clutch 18 if an operator applies a force exceeding a predetermined force threshold to the vehicle sliding door during a powered movement.

[0080] In this particular exemplary embodiment, the force threshold is 80 N. In other embodiments, the force threshold may be selected differently.

[0081] The minivan is equipped with an ESC (Electronic Stability Control) system, which includes a number of acceleration sensors. In addition, the minivan has a temperature sensor for measuring the external temperature and a device for determining the drive voltage of the electric motor 12. The output signals of these sensors are analyzed in various electronic monitoring units of the minivan. The electronic monitoring units are connected to a controller area network (CAN) bus system 48.

[0082] The electronic control unit 32 is configured to receive the analysis output signals of the acceleration sensor, the temperature sensor and the device for determining the drive voltage of the electric motor 12 via the CAN bus system 48 and to store the received analysis output signals in a digital data storage unit 36. Furthermore, the electronic control unit 32 is configured to configure the force exerted by the electric motor 12 on the vehicle sliding door as a function of the received analysis output signals. For this purpose, a lookup table (LUT) for the corresponding combinations of the sensor output signals is stored in the digital data storage unit 36 ​​which can be accessed by the processor unit 34.

[0083] In the following, a method for operating a motor according to the invention during movement between an open position and a closed position is described. Figure 1 and Figure 2 A feasible embodiment of the method of the motor drive device 10. The process of the method is Figure 4 The electronic control unit 32 comprises a software module for automatically executing the method, wherein the steps of the method are arranged as program codes to be executed, which are stored in a digital data storage unit 36 ​​of the electronic control unit 32 and can be executed by a processor unit 34 of the electronic control unit 32 .

[0084] When preparing to carry out the method, it is assumed that all participating devices and components are in an operationally ready state and are in Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the arrangement shown in .

[0085] In step 50 of the method, the preselection made by the operator is determined. In another step 52, the force required to move the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined normal speed is determined using a look-up table and stored sensor output signals.

[0086] The difference between the determined required force and the force instantly delivered by the electric motor 12 is then compared to a predetermined force threshold in a further step 54. The difference between the determined required force and the force instantly delivered by the electric motor 12 corresponds to the force applied by the operator to the vehicle sliding door.

[0087] If the determined preselection corresponds to the first option and if the force applied by the operator to the vehicle sliding door is above a predetermined force threshold of 80 N, then in a further step 56 of the method the speed of the vehicle sliding door is increased by increasing the driving force transmitted by the electric motor 12 to a predetermined increased speed value, and the vehicle sliding door moves correspondingly faster.

[0088] The step 54 of comparing the force applied by the operator on the vehicle sliding door with a predetermined force threshold is periodically performed by the electronic control unit 32. If the force applied by the operator on the vehicle sliding door drops to a value less than 10% of the predetermined force threshold, the electric motor 12 is activated in a further step 58 of the method to decelerate the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined normal speed.

[0089] If the determined preselection corresponds to the second option and if the force applied by the operator to the vehicle sliding door is above a predetermined force threshold of 80 N, in a further step 60 of the method the switching clutch 18 is activated by the electronic control unit 32 to decouple the force transmission device 24 and the electric motor 12. The vehicle sliding door can be moved by the operator at a desired speed while maintaining an applied force of at least 80 N in the manual operating mode.

[0090] exist Figure 3 An alternative motor drive device 10' for moving a movable vehicle sliding door according to the present invention is schematically shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Compared to the embodiment of the motor drive 10 of the embodiment of the invention, the switching clutch 22 is designed as an interlocking clutch, which does not allow starting under load. The alternative motor drive 10 'therefore contains an additional sensor 30 for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor 12. The sensor 30 can be designed as a Hall sensor array with a certain phase shift, just like the sensor 28 on the output side.

[0091] In the alternative motor drive 10 ′ according to the invention, the electronic control unit 32 is provided for starting the electrically operated actuator unit 38 for actuating the switching clutch 22 only when the speed difference calculated by the sensor 30 for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor 12 and the sensor 28 for determining the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door is below a predetermined threshold value. After this synchronization of the drive side and the output side, the actuation of the clutch 22 is enabled. In the case of operating the alternative motor drive 10 ′ according to the invention using the method disclosed above, this step must be carried out in each case before the actuation of the switching clutch 22. With this additional step, the disclosed method can also be carried out in the described manner using the alternative motor drive 10 ′ according to the invention.

[0092] List of reference numerals:

[0093] 10Motor drive device

[0094] 12 Electric motor

[0095] 14 Drive shaft

[0096] 16 Worm gear drive

[0097] 18 Clutch (friction)

[0098] 20 Clutch belt

[0099] 22 Clutch (interlock)

[0100] 24 Force transmission device

[0101] 26 Cable reels

[0102] 28 Position sensor (output side)

[0103] 30 Position sensor (drive side)

[0104] 32 Electronic Control Units

[0105] 34 processor units

[0106] 36 digital data storage units

[0107] 38 Actuator Unit

[0108] 40 actuator motor

[0109] 42 Worm gear transmission

[0110] 44 cup spring assembly

[0111] 46 strokes

[0112] 48CAN bus

[0113] Method steps:

[0114] 50 Confirm the pre-selection

[0115] 52 Determine the force required to move a vehicle sliding door

[0116] 54 Compare the force difference with a predetermined force threshold

[0117] 56 Increase the speed to the preset speed value

[0118] 58 Activate the electric motor to slow down the vehicle sliding door

[0119] 60 Activate the clutch to disengage the power transmission device

Claims

1. A motor drive device (10) for moving a movable vehicle sliding door, comprising: - a startable electric motor (12), a force transmission device (24) operatively connected to the vehicle sliding door and the electric motor (12) to transmit the driving force provided by the electric motor (12) to the vehicle sliding door, a sensor (28) for determining at least the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door, and - an electronic control unit (32) for starting at least the electric motor (12), It is characterized in that a switching clutch (18) connected to the force transmission device (24) and to the electric motor (12) is provided for a smooth, load-independent connection of the electric motor (12) and the force transmission device (24); and The electronic control unit (32) is configured to, when an operator applies a force exceeding a predetermined force threshold to the vehicle sliding door during a powered movement, increase the speed of the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined speed value by increasing the transmitted drive force or to decouple the force transmission device (24) from the electric motor (12) by means of the switching clutch (18), depending on the operator's preselection.

2. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The sensor (28) for determining at least the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door is arranged on the force transmission device (24).

3. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The switching clutch (18) is designed as a friction clutch, and an electric actuator unit (38) which can be activated by the electronic control unit (32) is provided for actuating the clutch (18).

4. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The switching clutch (22) is designed as an interlocking clutch, and a sensor (30) is provided at least for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor (12), and an electric actuator unit (38) which can be activated by the electronic control unit (32) is provided for actuating the clutch (22), wherein the electronic control unit (32) is arranged to activate the actuator unit (38) only if the speed difference calculated by the sensor (30) for determining the instantaneous rotational position of the electric motor (12) and the sensor (28) for determining the instantaneous position of the vehicle sliding door is below a predetermined threshold value.

5. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The electronic control unit (32) is configured to receive an output signal of at least one sensor so as to configure the force applied by the electric motor (12) to the vehicle sliding door according to the received output signal, wherein the at least one sensor is designed as an acceleration sensor or a position sensor, or is configured to determine a driving voltage of the electric motor (12) or to determine a temperature.

6. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The electronic control unit (32) comprises at least one processor unit (34) and a digital data storage unit (36), the processor unit (34) having data-technical access to the digital data storage unit (36).

7. The motor drive device (10) according to claim 6, It is characterized in that The electronic control unit (32) is arranged to periodically store output signals received from the sensor in the digital data storage unit (36).

8. A method for operating a motor drive device (10) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 1 to 7 during movement of a movable vehicle sliding door between an open position and a closed position, It is characterized in that At least the following steps are included: - determining (50) a preselection made by an operator, - using the stored sensor output signal to determine (52) the force required to move the vehicle sliding door to a predetermined normal speed, - comparing (54) the difference between the determined required force and the force instantaneously delivered by the electric motor (12) with a predetermined force threshold, - in the event that the preselection made by the operator is determined to be the first option and the difference between the determined required force and the force instantaneously output by the electric motor (12) is above the predetermined force threshold, increasing (56) the speed of the vehicle sliding door by increasing the transmitted drive force to a predetermined increased speed value, - in the event that the preselection is determined to be the first option, and in the event that the difference between the determined force required for the increased speed and the force instantaneously output by the electric motor (12) is close to zero, activating (58) the electric motor (12) to decelerate the vehicle sliding door to the predetermined normal speed, and - in the event that the preselection made by the operator is determined to be the second option, and in the event that the difference between the determined required force and the force instantaneously output by the electric motor (12) is above the predetermined force threshold, activating (60) the switching clutch (18) to decouple the force transmission device (24) from the electric motor (12).

9. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The step (52) of determining the force required to move the vehicle sliding door includes combining sensor output signals related to at least one of measured changing temperature, tilt position of the vehicle and drive voltage of the electric motor (12).

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