A method for initializing the zero position of an electric door

Abstract

The present application relates to a method for initializing the zero position of an electric door, which can be opened and closed automatically or manually by a user. The initialization method includes: upon receiving a request to open or close the electric door to a target position, judging the zero position initialization state; when the zero position initialization state is normal, opening or closing the electric door to the target position; when the zero position initialization state is lost, executing a zero position initialization process, the initialization process including automatically or manually opening or closing the electric door to the zero position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of vehicles, and in particular to a method for initializing the zero position of an electric door. Background Art

[0002] The continuous development of the automotive industry has brought significant convenience to people's travel. Simultaneously, the pursuit of greater comfort and convenience in vehicles has driven the continuous advancement of vehicle automation and intelligence. Among these features, vehicles with automatically opening and closing power doors are increasingly popular. Accurate opening and closing of power doors relies on the system's accurate determination of the door's fully locked position / zero position and maximum door opening position. However, existing power door technology for motor vehicles often misjudges the fully locked position due to mechanical errors caused by long-term use and unexpected power outages in the power door system. This can affect the normal opening and closing of the power door, or even cause it to malfunction, resulting in a negative user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This section introduces a selection of inventive concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description below. This section is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] In one aspect of the present application, a method for initializing the zero position of an electric door is provided, wherein the electric door can be opened and closed automatically or manually by a user, wherein the initialization method comprises:

[0005] Upon receiving a request to open or close the electric door to a target position, determining a zero position initialization state;

[0006] When the zero position initialization state is normal, open or close the electric door to the target position;

[0007] When the zero position initialization state is lost, a zero position initialization process is executed, wherein the initialization process includes automatically or manually opening or closing the electric door to the zero position.

[0008] In another aspect of the present application, a method for initializing the zero position of an electric door is provided, wherein the electric door can be opened and closed automatically or manually by a user, wherein the initialization method comprises:

[0009] At each power-up, determine whether the zero position is successfully written;

[0010] When the zero position is not successfully written, the zero position initialization state is set to lost, and then the zero position initialization process is executed; and

[0011] When the zero position is successfully written, it is determined whether the electric door is at the zero position, and when the electric door is not at the zero position, the zero position initialization state is set to lost, and then the zero position initialization process is executed; when the electric door is at the zero position, the zero position initialization state is set to normal, and the zero position initialization process is not executed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 The figure schematically shows a functional module diagram of an electric door system according to the principles of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 The flowchart of the method for initializing the full-lock position of an electric door according to the principles of the present invention is schematically shown.

[0014] Figure 3 The flowchart schematically shows a method for initializing the full lock position after the electric door control module is powered on again.

[0015] Figure 4 The flowchart of the method for executing full-lock position initialization according to the principles of the present application is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention, application, or uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, summary, or the following detailed description.

[0017] The present invention will now be further elaborated. In the following paragraphs, different aspects of the present invention are defined in more detail. Unless clearly indicated otherwise, each aspect so defined may be combined with any other (multiple) aspects. Especially, any feature indicated as preferred or advantageous may be combined with any other (multiple) features indicated as preferred or advantageous.

[0018] Reference Figure 1 , schematically showing the functional modules of an electric door system. The electric door system consists of an electric door control module (POD) 10, an electric limiter actuator 20, and a door lock 30. The electric door control module 10 is connected to a power supply line and a ground line to ensure normal power supply for module operation. It also transmits data and signals to other functional modules via the high-speed data line CAN H and the low-speed data line CAN L.

[0019] The door lock 30 includes a pull-in motor 32 and a contact switch 34. The pull-in motor 32 can pull the door from a semi-locked state to a fully locked position, or from a fully locked position to a semi-locked position, by rotating forward and reverse, thereby achieving a light lock and light open state for the door. The contact switch 34 can sense the state of the door lock 30. When the locking portion of the door lock 30 is engaged in the semi-locked slot, the door lock 30 is in the semi-locked state, and the contact switch 34 can send a semi-locked signal to the electric door control module 10. When the locking portion of the door lock 30 is in the locking slot, the door lock 30 is in the fully locked state, and the contact switch 34 can send a fully locked signal to the electric door control module 10. During the process of the electric door control module 10 driving the vehicle door to close, when the electric door reaches the semi-locked state, the contact switch 34 sends a semi-locked signal to the electric door control module 10, and the electric door control module 10 controls the vehicle door to stop moving. Then, the electric door control module 10 controls the suction motor 32 to pull the vehicle door to the fully locked position. When the vehicle door is in the fully locked position, the contact switch 34 sends the fully locked position information to the control module, and the electric door control module 10 controls the suction motor 32 to stop rotating, completing the full lock.

[0020] The electric limiter actuator 20 includes a limiter motor 22 and a Hall sensor 24. The limiter motor 22 drives the door to close and open by rotating forward and reverse. The Hall sensor 24 can detect the position of the door by detecting the number of pulses generated by the rotation of the motor rotor. When the door is at the maximum opening position, the Hall sensor writes (or records) the corresponding Hall count value A to the memory via the electric door control module. The memory can be, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory). When the door is in the fully locked (fully closed) position, the Hall sensor 24 writes the Hall count value B corresponding to the fully locked position to the memory via the electric door control module 10. This position is also called the zero point position or the Hall zero point. It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the zero point position may not be set to the fully locked position of the door, but may be any position in the door movement trajectory.

[0021] As will be readily understood, the ability of an electric door to open and close accurately depends on the system's ability to determine and learn the door's zero position. In other words, if the system cannot accurately determine that the door is at the zero position when the door is fully locked, the door's normal opening and closing functions will be adversely affected. In this case, the system needs to initialize the zero position, meaning that the zero position stored in the system is consistent with the door's actual zero position. For example, if the door's actual zero position is B, but the system's zero position is B+ due to wear or an unexpected power outage, initialization will cause the zero position stored in the system to return to B. As known to those skilled in the art, the zero position typically refers to the fully locked position of the electric door, i.e., the fully closed position. Of course, as will be readily understood, in addition to being automatically opened and closed by the electric door control module, the electric door can also be opened and closed manually by the user.

[0022] Those skilled in the art can easily understand that the main reasons for the loss of zero position initialization are as follows: First, when the electric door control module is writing the Hall count value corresponding to the zero position or maximum opening position of the electric door into the memory or before writing, KL30 (i.e., POD power supply) is accidentally powered off, resulting in a write failure and the loss of initialization; secondly, after KL30 is powered off, if the opening of the car door changes, the Hall sensor cannot work at this time, resulting in the loss of Hall position, and the Hall position will be distorted when powered on again, resulting in the loss of initialization; in addition, continuously triggering the anti-pinch function of the car door will also lead to the loss of initialization. The anti-pinch function is a measure to protect user safety. During the automatic closing process, if the car door touches a foreign object or obstacle, the car door will stop moving immediately to avoid pinching people or damaging the car door, thereby ensuring the safety of users and the car door. Each time the anti-pinch function is triggered, the control module will count. Each time the door is closed to the fully locked position, the control module will reset the anti-pinch count. If the anti-pinch function is triggered continuously for more than the maximum number preset by the electric door control module, for example 5 times in a row, the system will actively lose the initialization data in the memory for reinitialization.

[0023] Figure 2A flowchart schematically illustrates an initialization method for opening or closing a vehicle door according to the principles of the present application. The method begins at block 100, where the POD (Power Device Device), or the electric door control module, receives a request to open or close the vehicle door with a target position. The method then proceeds to decision block 110, where the initialization status of the zero position stored in the electric door control module is determined. If the initialization status of the zero position is lost, meaning it is uninitialized, the method proceeds to block 120, where the zero position initialization process is executed. If the initialization status of the zero position is normal, meaning it is initialized, the method proceeds to block 111, where the electric door control module executes the door opening or closing action. Thus, during each door opening or closing process, the initialization status of the zero position can be checked. If the zero position is lost, the zero position initialization process is promptly executed, preventing the electric door from being unable to open or close to the target position due to a loss of zero position initialization.

[0024] After the door opening or closing action begins, the method proceeds to decision box 112 to determine whether an anti-pinch event occurs during the door opening or closing action. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that an anti-pinch event refers to an obstacle appearing on the door's travel path during movement. If no anti-pinch event occurs, the method proceeds to decision box 113 to determine whether the door has been opened or closed to the target position. If the door has not been opened or closed to the target position, the method returns to box 111 and performs the door opening or closing action again until the door has been opened or closed to the target position. If the door has been opened or closed to the target position, the method proceeds to box 114 to set the number of anti-pinch events in the memory to zero so that the number of anti-pinch events can continue to be recorded during subsequent door opening and closing processes. The method then proceeds to box 115, and the entire door opening and closing action ends. This ensures that the electric door can accurately open or close to the target position.

[0025] If it is determined at decision block 112 that an anti-pinch event occurs during the door opening or closing action, the method may proceed to block 116 to execute an anti-pinch event response. The anti-pinch event response may be to stop the door opening or closing action or to move the door a certain distance in the direction opposite to the preset travel. After the anti-pinch event response is completed, the method may proceed to block 117 to input the number of anti-pinch events into the memory. Each time an anti-pinch event occurs, the anti-pinch count in the memory increases by one. After inputting the number of anti-pinch events into the memory, the method may proceed to decision block 118 to determine whether the anti-pinch count is less than a preset value, such as 5. If the anti-pinch count is less than the preset value, the method may proceed to block 122 to terminate the action. If the anti-pinch count reaches the preset value (e.g., 5 times), the method may proceed to block 119, and the electric door control module will actively lose initialization and set the zero position initialization state to lost initialization, that is, uninitialized. Subsequently, the method may proceed to block 120 to execute the zero position initialization process. After executing the zero position initialization process, the method can proceed to block 120 to complete the initialization and terminate the process. This ensures a timely response to an anti-pinch event to prevent accidents. It also prevents the anti-pinch event from affecting the zero position initialization state, ensuring that the door can still be accurately opened or closed to the target position after the anti-pinch event is triggered.

[0026] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for initializing the zero position of the electric door control module after power is re-applied is schematically shown. First, the method starts at decision box 200. There, the method checks whether the zero position of the electric door has been successfully written into a memory, such as an EEPROM. This is usually checked each time the system is powered on or when the vehicle is powered on for the first time. If the method determines that the zero position information has not been successfully written into the memory, the method proceeds to box 220, and the electric door control module sets the zero position initialization state to uninitialized, and then the method can proceed to box 221 to execute the zero position initialization process. After executing the zero position initialization process, the method can proceed to box 222 to complete the initialization process and the action ends.

[0027] If the method determines that the zero position is successfully written (recorded) into the memory, the method proceeds to decision block 210 to determine whether the door is in a fully closed state. If the door is in a fully closed state, it indicates that the zero position written into the memory at this time is accurate and the door can be opened and closed normally. In this way, the method proceeds to block 211, and the initialization is normal and no further initialization is required. If the door is not in a fully closed state, it indicates that the zero position written into the memory at this time is not an accurate zero position and the zero position needs to be initialized. Therefore, the method proceeds to block 220, sets the initialization state to uninitialized, and then proceeds to block 221 to execute the zero position initialization process. After executing the zero position initialization process, the method proceeds to block 222, and the initialization is completed and the action ends. Thus, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine the situation where zero position initialization needs to be performed after power-on, so that the zero position initialization is more targeted.

[0028] It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that when the electric door closes automatically, the door only needs to be automatically closed to the half-locked position, and then the door is driven by the suction motor to close from the half-locked position to the fully locked position. The anti-pinch function of the system may affect the door from closing to the half-locked position. Under normal circumstances, the electric limiter of the door will be subject to the anti-pinch resistance F during the closing process. 夹 When the car door is locked, the electric limiter will be subject to the resistance F of the lock. 锁 , and will also be subject to the resistance of the door sealing strip F 密 If, under certain working conditions, such as when driving downhill to the left, the main driving door is closed, the gravity of the door will produce a large resistance F in the direction of rotation of the door hinge. 重 , resulting in an increase in the resistance of the electric limiter. At this time, if F 夹 <F 锁 +F 重 +F 密 , it is possible to trigger the anti-pinch function, resulting in the door not being able to be closed electrically.

[0029] Figure 4The flowchart of the method for executing the zero position initialization according to the principle of the present application is schematically shown. The method starts from the decision box 300 to determine whether the anti-pinch function affects the closing of the car door to the semi-locked position. If it does, the method can proceed to box 320, and the system shields the automatic closing function of the car door. Then the method proceeds to box 311 and manually closes the car door to the fully locked position. After the car door is closed to the fully locked position, the method proceeds to box 312, and the memory sets the fully closed position of the car door to zero, that is, the Hall counter value corresponding to the fully closed position is written into the memory and set to zero. Then the method can proceed to box 313, and the electric door control module updates the status of the zero position initialization to initialized. Finally, the method proceeds to box 314 and the initialization process ends. Therefore, by manually closing the electric door to the fully locked position, the zero position can be accurately written into the memory, eliminating the incorrect zero position written due to accidental power outages and the like. At the same time, the automatic opening function of the shielded door avoids improper opening and closing of the electric door and the influence of the automatic opening function on the manually closed door.

[0030] If, at decision block 300, it is determined that the anti-pinch function does not affect the door closing to the half-locked position, the method proceeds to block 310, where the automatic door closing function of the power door control module is used to close the door to the fully locked position, thereby achieving the same effect as manually closing the door to the fully locked position. Subsequently, the method proceeds to block 312, where the memory sets the fully closed position of the door to zero. The method then proceeds to block 313, where the power door control module updates the fully locked position initialization status to initialized. Finally, the method proceeds to block 314, where the initialization process ends. Thus, the automatic door closing function can be used to complete zero position initialization without the anti-pinch function affecting the door closing to the fully locked position, thereby improving convenience.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that when the Hall effect counter value written to the memory is within a preset range when the electric door is in the fully locked position, the initialization state of the zero position can be defined as normal, i.e., initialized. When the Hall effect counter value exceeds the preset range, the initialization state of the zero position can be defined as abnormal, i.e., initialization failed or not initialized. However, electric door systems often experience cumulative position errors during use, resulting in the Hall effect counter value written to the memory being an inaccurate zero position, even though the initialization state of the zero position is normal.

[0032] Typically, position error accumulation in power door systems occurs primarily due to the following reasons: First, when the door is opened or closed manually or automatically, the reciprocating motion of the door causes the stopper motor to continuously reverse, resulting in error accumulation. Second, the mechanical transmission mechanism of the power door, which powers the stopper motor, will experience a certain degree of wear over time, leading to dimensional errors. Furthermore, when the KL30 is powered on and the power door system enters sleep mode, the pre-sleep Hall position is written to memory. However, when the door is opened or closed manually during sleep mode, the motor rotor rotates and generates a back electromotive force (EMF). The motor's voltage detection circuit detects this back electromotive force, wakes the circuit, and rereads the Hall position value from memory. However, back electromotive force is positively correlated with motor rotor speed. If the door moves too slowly, the motor rotor speed may also be too slow, and the generated back electromotive force may not be sufficient to wake the circuit, causing the actual door position to differ from the Hall position, resulting in an error. Therefore, if the zero position initialization is not lost, a calibration initialization can be performed to eliminate error accumulation.

[0033] Advantageously, the calibration initialization method according to the principles of the present invention can be a progressive calibration or an absolute calibration. Under normal circumstances, the learning process of the door travel position zero point is: when the door is closed to the fully locked position, the electric door control module receives the fully locked signal, and sets the Hall counter to zero, and the door opening is set to zero. The learning process of the maximum door travel is: the door is moved from the fully locked position to the mechanical hard stop position of the maximum opening. At this time, the Hall counter records the value corresponding to the maximum opening as A, and writes it to a memory such as EEPROM. However, during use, due to the accumulation of errors, the value corresponding to the maximum opening recorded by the Hall counter will have errors. Therefore, the value needs to be calibrated during calibration to return it to the accurate value. Specifically, in the progressive calibration, when the door is manually or automatically closed to the fully locked position, the Hall counter value is -B. If B is less than the endurance travel tolerance C, the maximum travel A can be updated at this time. new =A old +B*r, where r is the progressive rate of change, which can be set according to the calibration status of different vehicles, such as 5%, 10%, etc. If B is greater than the endurance travel tolerance C, it is considered a travel abnormality and the travel error is ignored. In other words, progressive calibration can gradually calibrate the travel error. In absolute calibration, when the door is manually or automatically closed to the fully locked position, the Hall counter value is -B. If B is less than the endurance travel tolerance C, the maximum travel A can be updated at this time. new =A old +B; if B is greater than the endurance stroke tolerance C, it is considered a stroke abnormality and the stroke error is ignored. In other words, absolute calibration can calibrate the stroke error in one go.

[0034] Advantageously, calibration can be performed periodically, and the calibration period can be pre-set in the electric door control module based on the frequency of vehicle use, for example, every 5 days, every 10 days, every 15 days, every 20 days, etc. Thus, if the door has not lost its initialization, calibration initialization can be performed on the door, thereby eliminating the accumulated errors generated during use and ensuring that the electric door can automatically open and close more accurately. The periodic calibration initialization enables the system to automatically perform periodic calibration, thereby continuously eliminating the accumulated errors.

[0035] The electric door zero position initialization strategy based on the principles of this application can re-initialize the zero position when the system loses the zero position initialization due to reasons such as an unexpected power outage, and the initialization process is simple and easy to operate, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the zero position of the electric door system and the accurate opening and closing of the electric door. In addition, it can also perform periodic calibration initialization when the system has not lost initialization to eliminate the error accumulation generated by the electric door system during use. In addition, the electric door of this application can be an electric side-opening door or a tailgate (trunk door) of a motor vehicle.

[0036] Although at least one exemplary embodiment has been described in the foregoing detailed description, it should be understood that there are a large number of variations. It should also be understood that the exemplary embodiment or embodiments described herein are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present application in any way. On the contrary, the foregoing detailed description will provide a convenient guide for those skilled in the art to implement an exemplary embodiment or embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the present application as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for initializing the zero position of an electric door, wherein the electric door can be opened and closed automatically or manually by a user, characterized in that: The initialization method includes: Upon receiving a request to open or close the electric door to a target position, determining a zero position initialization state; When the zero position initialization state is normal, open or close the electric door to the target position; When the zero position initialization state is lost, the zero position initialization process is executed, and the initialization process includes automatically or manually opening or closing the electric door to the zero position, and the zero position is the fully locked position of the electric door. The method of automatically or manually closing the electric door to the zero position includes: Determine whether the anti-pinch function affects the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position; When the anti-pinch function affects the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position, the electric closing function of the electric door is shielded, and the electric door is manually closed to the full-locked position; and When the anti-pinch function does not affect the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position, the electric door is automatically closed to the full-locked position.

2. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 1, wherein: The initialization process further includes the steps of: after the vehicle door is opened or closed to the zero position, recording the zero position, and setting the initialization state of the vehicle door zero position to initialized.

3. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 1, wherein: When the zero position initialization state is normal, opening or closing the electric door to the target position further includes: a step of determining whether an anti-pinch event occurs.

4. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 3, wherein: When an anti-pinch event occurs, an anti-pinch event response step is executed, and the anti-pinch event response step includes: stopping the door opening or closing action, or moving the door a certain distance in the opposite direction of the preset stroke.

5. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 4, wherein: After executing the anti-pinch event response step, the method further includes a step of recording the number of anti-pinch events.

6. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 5, wherein: When the number of recorded anti-pinch events reaches a preset value, the method further includes setting the zero position initialization state to uninitialized and executing the zero position initialization process.

7. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 3, wherein: When the anti-pinch event does not occur, the method further includes a step of determining whether the electric door is opened or closed to the target position.

8. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 7, wherein: When the electric door is not opened or closed to the target position, the method further includes the step of opening or closing the door again; when the door is opened or closed to the target position, the method further includes the step of setting the anti-pinch times to zero.

9. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: When the zero point position initialization state is normal, the method further includes the steps of performing progressive calibration or absolute calibration on the electric door stroke.

10. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 9, wherein: The gradual calibration or absolute calibration is periodic.

11. A method for initializing the zero position of an electric door, wherein the electric door can be opened and closed automatically or manually by a user, characterized in that: The initialization method includes: At each power-up, determine whether the zero position is successfully written; When the zero position is not successfully written, the zero position initialization state is set to lost, and then the zero position initialization process is executed; and When the zero position is successfully written, it is determined whether the electric door is at the zero position, and when the electric door is not at the zero position, the zero position initialization state is set to lost, and then the zero position initialization process is executed; when the electric door is at the zero position, the zero position initialization state is set to normal, and the zero position initialization process is not executed, wherein the zero position is the door fully locked position, Furthermore, the initialization process includes the following steps: Determine whether the anti-pinch function affects the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position; When the anti-pinch function affects the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position, the automatic closing function of the electric door is shielded, and the electric door is manually closed to the full-locked position; When the anti-pinch function does not affect the closing of the electric door to the half-locked position, the electric door is automatically closed to the full-locked position.

12. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 11, wherein: The initialization process further includes the steps of: after the electric door is closed to the fully locked position, setting the fully locked position of the electric door to zero, and setting the initialization state of the electric door zero position to initialized.

13. The method for initializing the zero position of an electric door according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: When the zero point position initialization state is set to normal, the method also includes the steps of performing progressive calibration and absolute calibration on the electric door stroke.

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