A method for breaking ice with a hidden door handle

Abstract

The present invention provides a hidden door handle ice-breaking method, wherein the hidden door handle comprises a door handle motor, a heater, a temperature sensor and a position switch, and the ice-breaking method comprises the following steps: entering an ice-breaking mode, controlling the heater to heat the door handle; controlling the door handle motor to operate, and judging whether ice-breaking is successful by detecting the current change of the door handle motor and the signal change of the position switch; when the current of the door handle motor is less than a preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle open position, ice-breaking is successful; when the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to the preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, ice-breaking fails; when it is judged that ice-breaking fails, the first step and the second step are continuously executed in sequence until it is judged that ice-breaking is successful. The present invention solves the problem that the traditional hard ice-breaking method affects the life of the door handle motor and the deceleration mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automobiles, and in particular to a hidden door handle ice-breaking method. Background Art

[0002] When the ambient temperature is very low, the hidden door handles of the car may be frozen and unable to pop out. At this time, the hidden door handles need to be broken into ice for use. At present, the industry mostly adopts the hard ice-breaking method, that is, it is achieved by increasing the power of the door handle motor and strengthening the deceleration mechanism. This method can solve the problem of opening most door handles after the surface is frozen. The disadvantage is that for cars used in long-term cold areas (such as the Northeast), since the probability of ice forming on the door handles of cars parked outdoors is very high, hard ice-breaking methods are often required to pop out the handles. In the case of thicker ice, the hard ice-breaking method may not be successful, and it will have a greater impact on the life of the motor and the deceleration mechanism. It is more likely to fail during long-term use, and the maintenance cost of hidden door handles is very high. Therefore, it is necessary to invent a new method for breaking ice for hidden door handles. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a hidden door handle ice-breaking method to solve the problem that the traditional hard ice-breaking method will affect the life of the door handle motor and the reduction mechanism.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the technical problem is:

[0005] A hidden door handle ice-breaking method, the hidden door handle comprising a door handle motor, a heater, a temperature sensor and a position switch, the ice-breaking method comprising the following steps:

[0006] The first step is to enter the ice-breaking mode and control the heater to heat the door handle;

[0007] The second step is to control the operation of the door handle motor and determine whether the ice breaking is successful by detecting the current change of the door handle motor and the signal change of the position switch; when the current of the door handle motor is less than the preset multiple value of the normal working current and the signal of the position switch is the door handle open position, it is determined that the ice breaking is successful; when the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to the preset multiple value of the normal working current and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, it is determined that the ice breaking fails;

[0008] Step 3: When it is determined that the ice breaking fails, continue to execute steps 1 and 2 in sequence until it is determined that the ice breaking is successful and the door handle is opened in normal mode.

[0009] Furthermore, after determining that the ice breaking is successful, the ice breaking mode is exited, and the heater is controlled to stop heating.

[0010] Furthermore, after entering the ice-breaking mode, the door handle motor is controlled to be powered on for a second preset time every first preset time.

[0011] Furthermore, the hidden door handle also includes a heating indicator light. When the heater heats the door handle, the heating indicator light comes on; when the heating stops, the heating indicator light goes out.

[0012] Furthermore, in the first step, the temperature of the door handle is detected in real time by a temperature sensor, and the door handle is continuously heated to a first preset temperature. When the temperature of the door handle reaches the first preset temperature, the heating is stopped. When the temperature of the door handle is lower than the second preset temperature, the door handle is continued to be cyclically heated to the first preset temperature.

[0013] Furthermore, when the signal from the remote control key is detected as a short press unlocking signal, the outside temperature of the vehicle is detected. When the outside temperature of the vehicle is lower than a third preset temperature, the ice breaking mode is directly entered; when the outside temperature of the vehicle is higher than the third preset temperature, the door handle motor is turned on.

[0014] Furthermore, when the door handle motor is turned on, when the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to a preset multiple of the normal operating current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, the ice breaking mode is entered.

[0015] Furthermore, when the signal of the remote control key is detected as a long press unlocking signal, the ice breaking mode is directly entered.

[0016] Furthermore, after the switch of the heater is manually turned on, the temperature outside the vehicle is continuously detected, and when the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than a third preset temperature, the heater is controlled to heat the door handle.

[0017] Furthermore, after the switch of the heater is turned on, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the door handle in real time, and when the heater heats the door handle to a fourth preset temperature, the heating is disconnected; when the temperature of the door handle drops to a fifth preset temperature, the door handle continues to be cyclically heated to the fourth preset temperature.

[0018] Beneficial effects of the invention: The method for breaking ice on a hidden door handle of the invention can solve the problem that ice on the surface of the hidden handle is not easy to pop out when the car is parked outdoors in cold areas. Compared with traditional ice-breaking methods, the success rate of breaking ice is greatly improved, and it will not have a great impact on the life of the motor and the reduction mechanism, and can effectively avoid the inconvenience caused by the ice on the hidden handle.

[0019] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is a control strategy diagram of the hidden door handle ice-breaking method of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a control logic diagram of the hidden door handle ice-breaking method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 A hidden door handle ice-breaking method is shown, wherein the hidden door handle comprises a door handle motor, a heater, a temperature sensor and a position switch, and the door handle motor, heater, temperature sensor and position switch are all controlled by BCM. The door handle motor is used to control the opening of the door handle; a heating coil is provided in the heater, and a manual switch button may also be provided; the temperature sensor is used to detect the temperature of the door handle; and the position switch is used to detect the opening state of the door handle. The ice-breaking method comprises the following steps:

[0023] Step 1: Enter the ice-breaking mode and control the heater to heat the door handle (it can be set to heat for 30 to 90 seconds);

[0024] Step two, control the operation of the door handle motor, and determine whether the ice breaking is successful by detecting the current change of the door handle motor and the signal change of the position switch within a short period of 1 second; when the current of the door handle motor is less than the preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal (high and low level signals) of the position switch is the door handle open position, it is determined that the ice breaking is successful; when the locked-rotor current of the door handle motor is the preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, it is determined that the ice breaking has failed and the door handle is in an iced state.

[0025] The normal operating current of the motor is 150mA. When the motor current is detected to be less than 5 to 7 times of the normal operating current within 1 second, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle open position, it is determined that the ice breaking is successful; the blocked rotor current of the motor is 950mA. When the motor current is detected to be greater than or equal to 5 to 7 times of the normal operating current within 1 second, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, it is determined that the ice breaking has failed and the door handle is in a frozen state.

[0026] Step 3: When it is determined that ice-breaking fails, continue to execute steps 1 and 2 in sequence until it is determined that ice-breaking succeeds.

[0027] Preferably, in combination with the above solution, in order to better save energy, after determining that ice breaking is successful, the ice breaking mode is exited and the heater is controlled to stop heating.

[0028] Preferably, in combination with the above-mentioned solution, in order to allow the surface of the door handle and the ice surface to better fit and be heated, after entering the ice-breaking mode, the door handle motor is energized for a second preset time (10 milliseconds) every first preset time (3s).

[0029] Preferably, in combination with the above solution, in order to facilitate observation of the heating status of the door handle, the hidden door handle further includes a heating indicator light, which is controlled by the BCM. When the heater heats the door handle, the heating indicator light is on; when the heating stops, the heating indicator light is off. The heating indicator light can be set on the door handle.

[0030] Preferably, in combination with the above scheme, in order to save energy and prevent the door handle from overheating, in step one, the temperature of the door handle is detected in real time by a temperature sensor, and the door handle is continuously heated to a first preset temperature (80 degrees). When the temperature of the door handle reaches the first preset temperature (80 degrees), the heating is stopped. When the temperature of the door handle is lower than the second preset temperature (77 degrees), the door handle is continued to be cyclically heated to the first preset temperature (80 degrees), and this process is repeated.

[0031] The heated ice-breaking method of hiding a telescopic door handle works in three ways.

[0032] The first working method:

[0033] When the signal from the remote control key is detected as a short press unlocking signal, the outside temperature of the vehicle is detected. When the outside temperature is lower than the third preset temperature (-10℃), the system directly enters the ice-breaking mode; when the outside temperature is higher than the third preset temperature (-10℃), the door handle motor is turned on.

[0034] When the driver is more than 10 meters away and cannot see clearly whether the surface of the vehicle body is frozen, he / she can shortly press the unlock button of the remote control key once. The remote control key will send an unlock signal, and the vehicle BCM will identify the legitimacy of the unlock signal. After determining that it is legal, the BCM will wake up the vehicle network. The BCM will identify the outdoor temperature signal sent by the air-conditioning controller. When the outdoor temperature is lower than -10℃, the BCM will turn on the door handle ice-breaking mode and heat it for 30 to 90 seconds.

[0035] Preferably, in order to solve the problem of door handles freezing when the outside temperature is as high as -10°C in the first working mode, when the BCM controls the door handle motor to turn on, when the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to a preset multiple value (5 to 7 times) of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, the ice-breaking mode is entered.

[0036] The second working method:

[0037] When the remote control key's signal is detected as a long-press unlock signal, the ice-breaking mode is directly entered. The driver brings the remote control key close to the vehicle (less than 0.5 meters), and the BCM senses and identifies the legitimacy of the key through the antenna on the door handle. After determining that it is legal, the BCM wakes up the vehicle network. The driver sees that the door handle is frozen, and long-presses the unlock button of the remote control key for more than 2 seconds. The BCM turns on the door handle ice-breaking mode and lights up the heating indicator on the door handle to indicate that it is heating. After heating for 30 to 90 seconds, the BCM turns on the ice-breaking mode again and executes according to steps one, two, and three. When the ice-breaking is completed or the door handle heating power is cut off, the door handle heating indicator light is extinguished, and the work is completed.

[0038] The third working method:

[0039] In order to prevent the hidden handles from freezing due to high-speed driving or long-term driving in rainy and snowy weather in cold areas, the driver can manually press the switch of the heater to turn on the door handle heating driving mode. After manually turning on the switch of the heater, the driver can display the heating status through the instrument cluster in the car. The BCM will continue to detect the outdoor temperature signal sent by the air-conditioning controller. When the outdoor temperature is lower than the third preset temperature (-10℃), the heater will be controlled to heat the door handles. When the outdoor temperature is higher than the third preset temperature (-10℃), the door handle heating driving mode is not satisfied; once the outdoor temperature meets the condition of being lower than the third preset temperature (-10℃), the door handle heating driving mode will be turned on. The door handle heating driving mode ends when the vehicle stops and the power is turned off.

[0040] Preferably, in order to control temperature and save energy, after the switch of the heater is turned on, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the door handle in real time. When the heater heats the door handle to the fourth preset temperature (40°C), the heating is disconnected; when the temperature of the door handle drops to the fifth preset temperature (35°C), the door handle continues to be heated in a cycle to the fourth preset temperature (40°C), and so on.

[0041] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or they are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for breaking ice with a hidden door handle, wherein the hidden door handle comprises a door handle motor, a heater, a temperature sensor and a position switch, wherein: The ice-breaking method comprises the following steps: (1) Entering the ice-breaking mode, controlling the heater to heat the door handle; after entering the ice-breaking mode, controlling the door handle motor to be powered on for a second preset time every first preset time, so that the surface of the door handle and the ice surface are in contact with each other and heated; (2) Control the operation of the door handle motor and determine whether the ice breaking is successful by detecting the current change of the door handle motor and the signal change of the position switch; When the current of the door handle motor is less than the preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle open position, it is judged that the ice breaking is successful; When the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to the preset multiple value of the normal working current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, it is judged that ice breaking fails; (3) When it is determined that icebreaking fails, continue to execute steps (1) and (2) in sequence until it is determined that icebreaking succeeds; After the heater switch is manually turned on while driving, the temperature outside the vehicle is continuously detected. When the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than a third preset temperature, the heater is controlled to heat the door handle until the vehicle is stopped and the power is turned off, and the door handle heating is turned off; When the signal from the remote control key is detected as a short press unlock signal, the outside temperature of the vehicle is detected. When the outside temperature is lower than the third preset temperature, the vehicle directly enters the ice-breaking mode. When the outside temperature is higher than the third preset temperature, the door handle motor is turned on. When the signal from the remote control key is detected as a long press unlock signal, the vehicle directly enters the ice-breaking mode.

2. The hidden door handle ice breaking method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: After determining that the ice breaking is successful, the ice breaking mode is exited and the heater is controlled to stop heating.

3. The hidden door handle ice breaking method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The hidden door handle also includes a heating indicator light. When the heater heats the door handle, the heating indicator light comes on; when the heating stops, the heating indicator light goes out.

4. The hidden door handle ice breaking method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step (1), the temperature of the door handle is detected in real time by a temperature sensor, and the door handle is continuously heated to a first preset temperature. When the temperature of the door handle reaches the first preset temperature, the heating is stopped. When the temperature of the door handle is lower than the second preset temperature, the door handle is continuously heated to the first preset temperature.

5. The hidden door handle ice breaking method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: When the door handle motor is turned on, when the current of the door handle motor is greater than or equal to a preset multiple of the normal operating current, and the signal of the position switch is the door handle closed position, the ice breaking mode is entered.

6. The hidden door handle ice breaking method according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the switch of the heater is turned on, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the door handle in real time. When the heater heats the door handle to the fourth preset temperature, the heating is turned off; when the temperature of the door handle drops to the fifth preset temperature, the door handle continues to be cyclically heated to the fourth preset temperature.

Images