Automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device

Abstract

An opening and closing device for an electric rear cover of an automobile relates to the technical field of accessories and solves the problem that a mechanism for triggering opening and closing of the electric rear cover by stepping on a physical pedal does not exist in the existing market. The device is used for triggering the electric rear cover to be opened and closed through a foot treading action; according to the device, a physical mechanism is arranged in a suitable area of the rear bumper of the vehicle, the physical mechanism comprises but is not limited to a pedal form, and detection can be carried out through any available sensing technology as long as pedal type foot treading actions are carried out. For example, a pedal of a groove structure suitable for a car type, an exposed independent pedal suitable for an SUV type or an electric rotary pedal can be designed; each pedal detects the distance change after a foot steps on the pedal through a sensor, and finally opening and closing of the electric rear cover are achieved. The pedal of the device is simple in structural design and low in cost; the foot treading action of the user is more standardized, operation is comfortable, and the action is simple.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of accessory technology, in particular to an automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, the opening and closing of the electric rear cover of a passenger car is often triggered by the action of the leg / foot, because it liberates the hands of the person, making it more convenient for the person to take and place objects from the trunk, avoiding the need to open and close the rear cover while holding something. In the prior art, there are two main technologies for detecting leg / foot action: the first scheme is to arrange two capacitive lines in the rear compartment of the vehicle; the second scheme is to project light and shadow onto the ground and superimpose infrared ranging technology. Although both are widely used, they each have problems that are difficult to solve.

[0003] In the first scheme, the user triggers by kicking the lower part of the rear compartment, as shown in FIG. 1 (Y-direction cross section of the whole vehicle), the rear compartment is provided with two capacitive lines arranged in an up-down and front-back staggered manner to sense the kicking action. For the following reasons, users often complain that the rear cover cannot be kicked open: Figure 1 1. The capacitors are sensitive to ice / snow / water, and when the surface of the rear compartment has ice / snow / water, it will greatly interfere with the detection of the kicking action by the capacitive lines; 2. In order to avoid false triggering, the system requires that the red / green capacitive lines respectively detect the approach and departure of the leg / foot to recognize it as an effective kicking action, which requires the calf and foot surface to be as close as possible to the respective capacitive lines when kicking, but this is difficult to guarantee in practice. First, the standard kicking action is difficult to quantitatively describe to the user in the user manual through language, second, different people have different heights and leg lengths, and in addition, when the surface of the rear compartment is dirty, the user will also subconsciously avoid kicking too close, all of which can cause the signal triggering to fail to reach the detection threshold; The second scheme is a light and shadow positioning system combined with an infrared ranging system, as shown in FIG. 2. The system projects a positioning light and shadow onto the ground below the rear compartment, and after the person steps on this light and shadow, the infrared ranging instrument detects that the distance between it and the ground has become smaller (reducing the thickness of the person's foot), and the system recognizes the person's triggering action based on this. This system has a certain technological feel, but the light and shadow projected onto the ground is difficult to see clearly in daylight, and does not serve as a guide to the user. In addition, the projection lamp module and the infrared ranging module in the system have a high cost, resulting in a high overall cost of the system. Figure 1 In summary, in the above two schemes, the capacitive system lacks operation indication, the kicking action is not standardized or there are interference factors in the environment, and it is not sensitive and is prone to false triggering. The indicator light in the light and shadow positioning infrared ranging system is difficult to see in strong light, so it is not strong in indication. In addition, the system has a high cost. Figure 2

[0004]

[0005] ​​​Since there is no way to trigger the opening and closing of the electric rear cover by stepping on the physical pedal on the market at present, in order to avoid the problems existing in the above mainstream system, the application provides a rear cover opening and closing trigger system which is simple to operate, reliable in signal detection and low in cost. SUMMARY

[0006] The application provides an automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device and method to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0007] The automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device is used for triggering the opening and closing of the electric rear cover through foot action, and comprises a recessed pedal arranged on the rear spoiler or the spoiler wing, and an inductive device arranged in the recessed pedal.

[0008] The application also provides an automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device which is used for triggering the opening and closing of the electric rear cover through foot stepping action, and is designed as an independent normal exposed pedal, which comprises a pedal base, a pedal arm, a pedal base and an inductive device arranged on the pedal base; the pedal base, the pedal arm and the pedal base are designed integrally or fixedly installed in a split mode to form an independent pedal; and the pedal base is fixed on the rear spoiler or installed on the rear metal anti-collision beam of the body in white.

[0009] The application also provides another automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device which is used for triggering the opening and closing of the electric rear cover through foot stepping action, and is designed as an electric rotary pedal; the electric rotary pedal comprises a motor, a rotating shaft, a pedal base, a pedal arm, a pedal base and an inductive device arranged on the pedal base. The motor output shaft is connected with the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is rigidly connected with the pedal arm, the pedal base, the pedal arm and the pedal base are designed integrally or fixedly installed in a split mode to form an independent pedal, and the pedal base is fixed on the rear spoiler or the rear metal anti-collision beam of the body in white.

[0010] The application has the following advantages: The automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device has the advantages that the foot stepping physical structure (pedal) is comfortable to operate: the pedal is stepped on, the action is simple, the object is clear, and the psychological experience is better.

[0011] The automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device has the advantages that the detection success rate of the sensor is higher than that of the current mainstream scheme, because the triggering action is highly standardized, the sensor is easier to detect, the radar probe has higher adaptability to the environment, and the signal sensing reliability is higher; and the detection success rate of the sensor is greatly improved.

[0012] The automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device has the advantages that the pedal structure is simple in design, an ultrasonic radar signal is processed by a rear reversing radar controller, one controller is saved, the system cost is lower, and the device is more economical. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 Y direction cross-sectional view of the rear spoiler (double capacitive antenna) scheme in the prior art; Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the rear cover opening and closing system triggered by the foot stepping light and shadow infrared ranging in the prior art; Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the recessed pedal in the middle of the rear spoiler (or lower spoiler wing); Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the back structure of the recessed pedal in the middle of the rear spoiler (or lower spoiler wing); Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the radar probe outside the side wall of the recessed pedal; Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the radar probe inside the side wall of the recessed pedal; Figure 7 Received radar signal diagram when the human foot does not extend into the recessed pedal; Figure 8 Received radar signal diagram after the human foot extends into the recessed pedal; Figure 9 Circuit schematic diagram of the automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device described in the application; Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the radar probe outside the top of the recessed pedal; Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the normal exposed independent pedal structure arranged below the middle of the rear spoiler for a jeep; Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the normal exposed independent pedal structure; Figure 13 Circuit schematic diagram of the normal exposed independent pedal structure; Figure 14 Schematic diagram of the electric rotating pedal structure arranged below the middle of the rear spoiler for a jeep; Figure 15 Schematic diagram of the electric rotating pedal from the side view of the vehicle; Figure 16 Schematic diagram of the electric rotating pedal from the side and rear view of the vehicle; Figure 17 Circuit schematic diagram of the electric rotating pedal.

[0014] In the figure: 1, recessed pedal, 2, rear spoiler surface / lower spoiler wing surface, 3, double radar probe, 4, single radar probe, 5, motor, 6, rotating shaft, 7, pedal base, 8, pedal arm, 9, pedal base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Specific implementation one,Figures 3 to 10 The present embodiment describes an electrically operated tailgate opening and closing device for a vehicle, which comprises a physical mechanism arranged in a suitable area of the vehicle tail, which physical mechanism comprises but is not limited to a groove pedal form, as long as the action of the foot reaching into the groove or stepping on the groove pedal triggers the signal sensing.

[0016] The physical mechanism described in the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 , comprises a groove pedal 1 arranged on the rear spoiler or the lower spoiler wing, the groove pedal has an opening width of about 30 cm, a height of about 10 cm, and a depth of about 8 cm, and the bottom plate and the top plate are connected by a curved surface. The size is not strictly limited and can be adjusted in specific applications. The height and opening direction of the groove pedal should be arranged to facilitate foot operation. According to the suitable height, the groove pedal can be integrated with the rear spoiler or the lower spoiler wing, thereby saving costs. The material of the groove pedal can use PP-EPDM-T10, and in order to design eye-catching and prevent scratches when stepping on, the bottom plate can be electroplated.

[0017] In the present embodiment, the sensing device 3 preferably uses a low-cost ultrasonic radar sensor. The ultrasonic radar uses two, which are fixed horizontally in the center area of the groove side wall (the same side) by a bracket with 3M adhesive or plastic hot melting, as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 , maintaining a distance of about 0.8 cm between the two radar probes. One is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves, and the other is used for receiving ultrasonic waves. The signal detection principle is that when the foot is not stepped on the groove pedal (or not inserted into the groove), the ultrasonic wave emitted by the transmitting probe is received by the receiving probe after several reflections by the inner wall of the groove, and the signal curve is as shown in Figure 7 ; after the foot is inserted into the groove, the transmission path of the ultrasonic signal is destroyed, and the signal of the receiving probe is significantly weakened, as shown in Figure 8 . This can be used as the basis for signal detection at the controller end, and as long as a reasonable threshold value is defined, the signal change can be used to identify whether the foot is inserted into the groove and stepped on the pedal. Tests have shown that setting the signal attenuation amplitude before and after the foot operation to 1 / 3 of the initial value can accurately identify the action.

[0018] In order to save costs, the ultrasonic radar signal is handed over to the rear parking radar controller for processing. The rear parking radar is almost a standard configuration of mainstream vehicles, and the chip built-in the controller can usually process multiple radar signals. Handing over the radar signal of the present embodiment to it for processing not only saves the material cost including the controller and the wire harness, but also allows the scheme to be handed over to the rear parking radar supplier for development, thereby bringing comprehensive cost advantages.

[0019] As shown in Figure 9As shown, the two radar probes arranged on the groove pedal side wall are directly connected to the rear reversing radar controller. When the rear reversing radar controller detects that a person's foot enters the groove or steps on the groove pedal, it will send a trigger signal to the electric rear cover controller (or vehicle body domain controller) through the bus. If the anti-theft system unlocks the rear cover, the electric rear cover controller (or vehicle body domain controller) will drive the rear cover motor to open the rear cover, or directly close the rear cover and notify the anti-theft system to lock.

[0020] In theory, a single radar probe can also be arranged on the side of the groove, both as a transmitting probe and as a receiving probe. If there is enough space in the rear bumper longitudinally, the radar probe can also be arranged on the top of the groove. Because ultrasonic radar has a detection blind area (usually 10 cm), if the radar probe is arranged on the top of the groove, the up-and-down lifting frame of the groove pedal needs to be increased to more than 17 cm, and the transverse width of the groove needs to be appropriately reduced. A possible implementation structure is shown in Figure 10 .

[0021] In this embodiment, a mainstream AK1 ultrasonic radar probe can be selected. Its cost in the industry is only about 15 rmb. According to its performance parameters, the AK1 radar meets the signal detection requirements of the groove pedal.

[0022] The detection of the above-mentioned stepping action can be realized by infrared ranging (tof) technology, or by a capacitance sensing capacitance wire / coil, or by any other type of sensor, or even by a physical contact switch, as long as it can reliably detect / react to the action of a person stepping on the above-mentioned pedal.

[0023] Specific implementation method two, in combination Figure 11 and Figure 13 This embodiment describes an automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device, which is designed for the pedal of a jeep. The chassis of a jeep is high, and the height of the rear bumper is also high. The pedal is made inside the rear bumper or the lower spoiler, and it is not comfortable for users to step on it. Therefore, a separate physical pedal independent of the rear bumper is designed directly below the rear bumper. The height of the pedal should be lower than the lower edge of the rear bumper to facilitate users to step on it; but its height should not be lower than the lowest point of the vehicle chassis to avoid affecting the passability of the vehicle.

[0024] The automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device described in this embodiment is designed as a normal exposed pedal, which is composed of a pedal base 9, a pedal arm 8, a pedal mounting base 7, and a sensing device 4 arranged on the pedal base 7. The pedal is designed as a whole or fixedly installed in parts; the pedal can be fixed on the rear bumper or the rear metal bumper beam of the body-in-white.

[0025] The independent pedal of the embodiment can adopt plastic material considering the length of the pedal arm 8, so as to reduce the weight of the assembly and avoid mechanical damage caused by vibration during movement. The specific plastic material can be PP+EPDM-TD20, and the length of the pedal arm should be designed considering the assembly position and the sufficient extension of the pedal to the lower rear bumper. In order to facilitate the user to step on the pedal, the pedal base 9 should maintain a size of at least length >=20 cm and width >=5 cm. The pedal can be arranged below the rear bumper, and the user can trigger the electric rear cover opening and closing by stepping on the pedal base 9. The sensing device 4 arranged on the pedal base 7 is used to detect the stepping action of the person.

[0026] The sensing device 4 in the embodiment is similar to the sensing device in the first specific embodiment, and the only difference is that a single radar probe is used. The circuit principle is shown in Figure 13 , which is the same as the circuit principle in the first specific embodiment.

[0027] The third specific embodiment combines Figures 14 to 17 to illustrate the embodiment, the automobile electric rear cover opening and closing device is another electric rotary pedal designed for a jeep. The rotary pedal comprises a motor 5, a rotating shaft 6, a pedal base 7, a pedal arm 8, a pedal base 9, and a sensing device 4 arranged on the pedal base; The pedal is integrally designed or fixedly installed in parts, and is assembled with the whole vehicle through the pedal base 7 (which does not move itself). The output shaft of the motor 5 is connected with the rotating shaft 6, and the motor 5 drives the rotating shaft 6 to rotate in the positive and negative directions along the axis of itself when the motor 5 rotates. The pedal arm 8 is rigidly connected with the rotating shaft 6 and is driven by the rotating shaft 6 to make a fan-shaped (or pendulum) movement. As shown in Figure 15 , it can be seen from the vehicle side view of the pedal that the pedal base 7 is closer to the front of the vehicle, and the pedal base 9 is closer to the tail of the vehicle, so the whole pedal arm 8 is inclined upward and downward, rather than straight up and down.

[0028] The working principle of the electric rotary pedal in the embodiment is as follows: When the vehicle is running, the motor 5 starts to rotate, drives the pedal arm 8 and the pedal base 9 to rotate upward through the rotating shaft 6, so that the pedal is recycled upward into the rear bumper; when the vehicle stops running, the motor 5 reverses the rotation, drives the pedal to rotate downward, so that the pedal base is exposed to the user under the rear bumper, and the rotating direction is as shown in Figure 16 ; the user steps on the pedal base 9 at this time, which triggers the sensing device 4 on the pedal base 7 to detect the change of the distance, thereby triggering the electric rear cover opening and closing.

[0029] The electrically rotating pedal described in this embodiment is another implementation of the split pedal for Jeeps. OEMs can design it as electrically rotating if they do not prefer the pedal to be normally exposed under the rear bumper. The electrically rotating pedal is a conventional motor drive control design in engineering, involving motion control, boundary control, stall control, and the assembly layout of the entire mechanism in the rear bumper area—all standard engineering design considerations.

[0030] The sensing device 4 described in this embodiment is the same as the sensing device described in specific embodiment two. The circuit principle is as follows: Figure 17 Compared to the second specific implementation method, this method includes an additional rotary pedal motor, which can be driven by the rear cover controller. When the vehicle changes from moving to stopping, the rear cover controller drives the motor to rotate the pedal downwards to below the rear bumper (for the user to step on); when the vehicle changes from stationary to moving, the rear cover controller drives the motor to rotate upwards and retract the pedal into the rear bumper.

[0031] The electrically operated rotary pedal in this embodiment, the recessed pedal in embodiment one, and the normally exposed pedal in embodiment two are all stationary when the foot is pressed on them. That is, pressing the foot on the pedal does not cause rotational movement like an accelerator or brake pedal. It merely serves as a trigger for signal sensing; therefore, the foot does not need to exert much force, simply placing the foot on the pedal to trigger the signal sensing is sufficient.

[0032] Specific Implementation Method Four: This implementation method is an example of actual operation testing of the pedal in the opening and closing device described in Specific Implementation Method One, Specific Implementation Method Two, or Specific Implementation Method Three. In this embodiment, we compare it with existing technologies in four aspects: user experience, detection success rate, false trigger rate, and cost.

[0033] User experience: Evaluation dimensions include whether the object of operation is clear and whether the triggering action is comfortable. If the object is unclear or the operation is difficult, the score should be lowered; Detection success rate: If the system fails to detect human trigger actions under certain operating conditions, the score should be lowered; False trigger rate: False triggering refers to a system issuing a trigger signal without any human intervention. If this occurs under certain operating conditions, the false trigger rate score should be increased. Cost: refers only to the material cost associated with implementing the trigger action detection function; Each of the above dimensions has three evaluation results: high, medium, and low.

[0034] Table 1

[0035] The following is an explanation of some of the evaluation results in the table: (1) The existing technology uses two capacitor antennas arranged vertically / front and back in a staggered manner. When kicking, the lower leg and the instep need to trigger two capacitor lines respectively to be effective. If the action is not standard, it will not be collected. In addition, the ice, snow and rain on the back cover surface also affect the detection sensitivity of the capacitor lines. All of these factors affect the detection success rate of this scheme.

[0036] (2) The existing technology uses a light and shadow positioning infrared ranging scheme. The light and shadow come from the projection lamp module and then the infrared detector module is superimposed, which greatly increases the system cost. The mainstream price in the industry is over 200 yuan.

[0037] (3) The grooved pedal in the first embodiment of the present invention, the independent pedal in the second embodiment, and the electric rotating pedal in the third embodiment are all examples of the present invention. When the foot steps on the pedal, the radar probe signal will change significantly and be detected by the controller. The detection reliability is high and the success rate is 100%.

[0038] (4) The operation signal will only be triggered if the radar signal on the pedal changes, and the radar signal on the pedal is almost never changed by false triggering, so the false triggering rate is almost zero.

[0039] (5) The grooved pedal in the first specific implementation method has a cost of only about RMB 15 per radar probe. The radar signal processing is also integrated into the rear reversing radar controller. With the addition of the wiring harness, the system cost can be controlled at around RMB 40.

[0040] (6) The electric rotary pedal in Specific Implementation 3 is based on the fact that, in addition to the components included in Specific Implementation 2, it also requires a rotary motor and related structures; here, the 100rmb evaluation is based on this.

[0041] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0042] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of this invention patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electric tailgate opening and closing device for automobiles, characterized in that: The device is used to trigger the opening and closing of the electric rear cover by foot movement; the device includes a recessed pedal located in the rear area of ​​the vehicle, and a sensor is installed inside the recessed pedal.

2. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grooved pedal is located in the middle of the rear bumper or lower spoiler.

3. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensing device uses an ultrasonic radar sensor to detect foot movements, and the ultrasonic radar sensor is arranged on the top or side wall of the groove.

4. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal from the ultrasonic radar sensor is processed by the rear reversing radar controller.

5. An electric tailgate opening and closing device for automobiles, characterized in that: The device triggers the opening and closing of the electric rear cover by foot pedal action; the device is designed as an independent, normally exposed pedal, which consists of a pedal base, a pedal arm, a pedal base, and a sensor device set on the pedal base; the pedal base, pedal arm, and pedal base are either integrated or separately fixedly installed; the pedal base is fixed to the rear bumper or installed on the rear metal anti-collision beam of the body-in-white.

6. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 5, characterized in that: The length of the pedal base is greater than or equal to 20cm and the width is greater than or equal to 5cm.

7. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 5, characterized in that: The pedal body is located directly below the rear bumper and is independent of the rear bumper; the height of the pedal is lower than the lower edge of the rear bumper and higher than the lowest position of the vehicle chassis.

8. An electric tailgate opening and closing device for automobiles, characterized in that: This device is used to trigger the opening and closing of the electric rear cover by foot pedal action; the device is designed as an electric rotary pedal; the electric rotary pedal includes a motor, a rotating shaft, a pedal base, a pedal arm, a pedal base, and a sensing device set on the pedal base; The motor is fixed to the pedal base, and its output shaft is connected to the rotating shaft to drive its rotation. The rotating shaft is assembled to the pedal base via a rolling connection. The pedal base, pedal arm, and rotating shaft are either designed as a single unit or manufactured separately and then assembled into an assembly. The entire pedal assembly is fixed to the rear bumper or the rear metal anti-collision beam of the vehicle body via the pedal base.

9. The electric rear cover opening and closing device for automobiles according to claim 8, characterized in that: The motor drives the rotating shaft to rotate, which in turn drives the pedal. When the vehicle stops, the pedal flips down and stops below the rear bumper; when the vehicle is moving, the pedal flips up and retracts into the rear bumper.

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