Vehicle spoiler control system

Abstract

Vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400), comprising: a vehicle spoiler (22; 222); at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) configured to move the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) relative to a surface (228) of a vehicle (10); one or more vehicle sensors (21) configured to receive at least one vehicle parameter; and characterized by a vehicle control module (20; 416) configured to detects a spoiler entrapment hazard according to at least one vehicle parameter; controls the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to operate with a torque that is less than or equal to a first torque value when it is determined that the spoiler pinching risk is greater than a threshold value; and controlling the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to operate with a torque that is less than or equal to a second torque value when it is determined that the spoiler pinching risk is less than the threshold value, the second torque value being greater than the first torque value, and fault detection logic is used to determine whether an output shaft of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) and a motor angle of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) are misaligned to stop operation of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) and thus inhibit further movement or rotation of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222).

Description

[0001] Some vehicles incorporate spoilers for aesthetic reasons and / or aerodynamic performance. In some cases, one or more actuators are used to raise and lower the vehicle spoiler relative to a surface of the vehicle, such as the vehicle's tailgate to which the spoiler is attached. In some situations, the movement of the vehicle spoiler may pose an entrapment hazard to a vehicle occupant or another person near the vehicle.

[0002] DE 10 2022 202 731 A1 discloses a vehicle spoiler control system according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] From US 2007 / 0 236 161 A1, a pinch protection control is known which provides pinch protection by taking into account various parameters, such as the combustion engine on or off, the stationary vehicle and the motor voltage of an actuator, and which can be used for different components of a vehicle, such as windows, sunroofs, sliding doors, tailgates and trunk lids.

[0004] It is the object of the present invention to provide a vehicle spoiler control system that provides anti-pinch protection and can react to a misalignment of a spoiler actuator.

[0005] This object is achieved by a vehicle spoiler control system having the features of claim 1.

[0006] Advantageous embodiments are specified in the dependent claims.

[0007] The present disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle having a control system for controlling the movement of a vehicle spoiler. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system in which a vehicle spoiler is in an extended position. Fig. 3 is a block diagram in which the vehicle spoiler of Fig. 2 is in a stowed position. Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a control system for determining whether an entrapment risk condition exists based on vehicle parameters. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a control system for determining whether an entrapment hazard event has occurred. Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an unclaimed method for controlling the movement of a vehicle spoiler.

[0008] Reference symbols may be reused in the drawings to identify similar and / or identical elements.

[0009] Some exemplary embodiments include a solution for a control system used to detect entrapment hazards or entrapment risk conditions of a vehicle spoiler. The entrapment system can detect these conditions and modify the operation of the spoiler's actuators while an active spoiler is in operation (e.g., while the spoiler is moving between different positions) without requiring external hardware or external entrapment event sensors.

[0010] Example control systems may be configured to identify the limits of spoiler movement in the system, determine entrapment hazard conditions using vehicle data (e.g., to dynamically change the motor torque settings of a spoiler actuator), and monitor motor characteristics to accurately determine when spoiler entrapment events occur to provide protection and comfort to occupants or persons near the vehicle.

[0011] For example, a vehicle control module may process spoiler actuator motor current data to dynamically calculate an overcurrent threshold for entrapment based on the instantaneous performance of the motor and / or other system components. If the vehicle control module detects that the average spoiler actuator motor current has exceeded an overcurrent threshold during vehicle spoiler movement, the vehicle control module sets the "entrapment detected" flag to disable the spoiler actuator motor. After detecting the spoiler entrapment event, the vehicle control module may calculate a new target position based on the direction and location of the obstacle to resolve the entrapment condition.

[0012] With reference now to Fig. 1, a vehicle 10 comprises front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13. In Fig. 1, a drive unit 14 selectively delivers torque to the front wheels 12 and / or the rear wheels 13 via drive lines 16 and 18, respectively. The vehicle 10 may include various types of drive units. The vehicle may, for example, be an electric vehicle such as a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle, an internal combustion engine (ICE), or another vehicle type.

[0013] Some examples of the drive unit 14 may include any suitable electric motor, a power converter, and a motor controller configured to control power switches within the power converter to adjust motor speed and torque during propulsion and / or regeneration. A battery system supplies or receives power from the electric motor of the drive unit 14 via the power converter during propulsion or regeneration.

[0014] While the vehicle 10 in Fig. 1 includes a drive unit 14, the vehicle 10 may also have other configurations. For example, two separate drive units may drive the front wheels 12 and the rear wheels 13, one or more individual drive units may drive individual wheels, etc. As will be appreciated, other vehicle and / or drive unit configurations may also be used.

[0015] The vehicle control module 20 may be configured to control the operation of one or more vehicle components, such as the drive unit 14 (e.g., by specifying torque settings of an electric motor of the drive unit 14). The vehicle control module 20 may receive inputs to control components of the vehicle, such as signals from a steering wheel, accelerator paddles, etc. The vehicle control module 20 may monitor the vehicle's telematics for safety purposes, such as vehicle speed, vehicle location, vehicle braking and acceleration, etc.

[0016] The vehicle control module 20 may receive signals from any suitable components for monitoring one or more aspects of the vehicle, including one or more vehicle sensors 21 (such as cameras, microphones, pressure sensors, wheel position sensors, position sensors such as GPS antennas, spoiler position sensors, spoiler actuator motor sensors, etc.). The vehicle control module 20 may communicate with another device via a wireless communication interface, which may include one or more wireless antennas for transmitting and / or receiving wireless communication signals.

[0017] For example, the wireless communication interface may communicate via any suitable wireless communication protocols, including, but not limited to, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, Wi-Fi communication, wireless area network (WAN) communication, cellular communication, personal area network (PAN) communication, short-range wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth), etc. The wireless communication interface may communicate with a remote computing device via one or more wireless and / or wired networks. Regarding vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communication, the vehicle 10 may include one or more V2X transceivers (e.g., V2X signal transmitting and / or receiving antennas).

[0018] As in Fig. 1, the vehicle 10 includes a spoiler 22. The spoiler 22 may be any suitable spoiler that attaches to any location on the vehicle, such as a tailgate at the rear of the vehicle. The spoiler 22 may be an active spoiler that is movable between multiple positions, such as a stowed position adjacent to the surface of the vehicle (with little or no gap between the spoiler and the vehicle) and a deployed position farther from the surface of the vehicle (e.g., raised upward from the stowed position). The spoiler 22 may also be in any position between the stowed and deployed positions and configured to rotate to change an angle of a surface of the spoiler 22 relative to the ground or a direction of travel of the vehicle 10.

[0019] For example, a left spoiler actuator 24 and a right spoiler actuator 26 are coupled to control the movement of the spoiler 22. In other exemplary embodiments, more or fewer spoiler actuators may be used, which may be coupled to other parts of the spoiler 22. Each spoiler actuator may include, for example, a solenoid actuator, an electric motor, etc.

[0020] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control module 20 is configured to control the operation of the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26. For example, the vehicle control module 20 may control the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26 to move the vehicle spoiler, which may include controlling a torque permitted by the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26. The vehicle control module 20 may control the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26 according to one or more vehicle parameters, such as parameters determined via the vehicle sensors 21, parameters of the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26, etc.

[0021] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control system 20 may implement a closed-loop controller that employs multiple parallel algorithms to improve entrapment protection, optimize system performance, improve vehicle noise, vibration, and harness (NVH) performance and quality, etc.

[0022] For example, the vehicle control module 20 may be configured to learn the end stops of travel of the spoiler 22 (e.g., upon initial installation of the spoiler 22 on the vehicle 10) and determine critical entrapment zones by calculating the distance of the spoiler 22 from the end stop (e.g., where a spoiler angle is large enough to fit 99 percent of all human hands), etc.

[0023] The vehicle control module 20 may be configured to determine entrapment hazard based on vehicle condition using various signals such as vehicle speed, transmission condition, liftgate status, spoiler end stops, spoiler angle, etc. The vehicle condition may be assessed for potential entrapment hazard, and the vehicle control system 20 may command actuation of the rear spoiler with an appropriate torque and target position to increase safety and system performance (e.g., by maintaining the torque of the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26 below a torque threshold to reduce the force exerted on an occupant or other person near the vehicle in the event of an entrapment).

[0024] Hardware protection of the spoiler can be implemented by utilizing vehicle condition signals (e.g., sensed vehicle parameters) and the position of the tailgate (when the vehicle spoiler 22 is mounted on a tailgate of the vehicle) to provide additional hardware protection for an active rear spoiler. The spoiler 22 can be commanded to retract when there is a risk of impact with a low ceiling threshold and the vehicle control module 20 determines that it is safe to do so to avoid injury to the user.

[0025] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control module 20 may be configured to evaluate and determine a spoiler 22 entrapment event based on combined motor characteristics. For example, the vehicle control module 20 may monitor the instantaneous motor current of the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26 during each movement of the spoiler 22 and use the moving average to define an overcurrent threshold.

[0026] The vehicle control module 20 may monitor the motor speed to identify whether the motor of the left spoiler actuator 24 or the right spoiler actuator 26 is moving slower than the calibrated threshold, and may monitor a motor movement status (e.g., currently moving or stopped) and compare a difference between a target position of the spoiler 22 and a current position of the spoiler 22.

[0027] The vehicle control module 20 is configured to enable the use of a disengagement mechanism to determine when an output shaft within the left spoiler actuator 24 or the right spoiler actuator 26 is misaligned with the motor shaft. The vehicle control module 20 may monitor any of these parameters (or others) to determine when a spoiler 22 entrapment event may have occurred.

[0028] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control module may be configured to improve the body alignment and flushness of the spoiler 22 with the fascia of the vehicle by adjusting the target positions of the left spoiler actuator 24 and the right spoiler actuator 26, by adjusting the speed and torque targets, etc. As a result, the spoiler 22 may be quietly, reliably, and safely positioned at a specified position, and NVH performance may be improved through dynamic speed and torque control of the spoiler actuators.

[0029] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 in which a vehicle spoiler 222 is in an extended position. The left spoiler actuator 224 is coupled to a left-side portion of the vehicle spoiler 222 via a coupling 230, and the right spoiler actuator 226 is coupled to the right-side portion of the vehicle spoiler 222 via another coupling 230. For example, the vehicle spoiler 222 may be coupled to one or more brackets, rods, pillars, etc., movable by the couplings 230 to raise and lower the vehicle spoiler relative to a vehicle surface 228.

[0030] The system 200 includes end stops 232 that may represent a lower travel position of the vehicle spoiler 232. For example, the left spoiler actuator 224 and the right spoiler actuator 226 may be configured to move the vehicle spoiler 222 to a stowed position (as shown in Fig. 3) which is adjacent to the end stops 232.

[0031] The end stops 232 may be actual physical stop components that inhibit further downward movement of the vehicle spoiler, or they may indicate a position in which the movement of the vehicle spoiler 222 is stopped to inhibit the vehicle spoiler 222 from being pressed into the surface 228 of the vehicle.

[0032] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control module 20 may be configured to monitor a position of the vehicle spoiler 222 to determine whether an entrapment risk condition exists. For example, the zone 234 may represent locations of the vehicle spoiler 222 where an entrapment event could occur (e.g., if the vehicle spoiler 222 is lowering and a person places their hand into the zone 234 between the vehicle spoiler 222 and the vehicle surface 228).

[0033] If it is determined that the vehicle spoiler 222 is located in the zone 234 where there is a higher risk of an entrapment condition, the left spoiler actuator 224 and the right spoiler actuator 226 may be operated at a low actuator torque to reduce the likelihood of an entrapment event (because a person has more time to move their hand) or to reduce potential damage from an entrapment event (because the actuators will not push the vehicle spoiler 222 down on a person with as much force).

[0034] The zone 236 may represent an area where the risk of entrapment is lower, such as when the vehicle spoiler 222 is close enough to the vehicle surface 228 (e.g., in the stowed position of Fig. 3) that a person would not have room to place their hand between the vehicle spoiler 222 and the vehicle surface 228.

[0035] In zone 236, a higher torque of the left spoiler actuator 224 and the right spoiler actuator 226 may be used because the risk of an entrapment event is significantly lower (or nearly zero). The higher torque setting may allow the spoiler 222 to be placed in a fully stowed position for situations where a lower torque setting (such as the low torque setting of zone 234) may not provide enough force to fully deploy the vehicle spoiler 222, etc.

[0036] In some exemplary embodiments, the vehicle control module 20 may provide active spoiler control that utilizes the instantaneous value of a motor drive's drive current to provide sensorless anti-pinch protection during movement of the vehicle spoiler 222 in real time without impacting system performance. This may provide a less complex and more cost-effective software solution (e.g., as opposed to adding additional motor and pinch sensing hardware), and may exhibit a faster response time to detected pinch events.

[0037] The vehicle control module 20 may be configured to determine whether an entrapment risk exists and adjust the operation of the spoiler actuators accordingly (e.g., by reducing the torque of the actuators when an entrapment risk is above a threshold). This approach facilitates improving or maximizing the performance of the spoiler actuators in situations where higher torque is desired or required due to external environmental stresses (e.g., when higher torque is permitted at high vehicle speeds to maintain the vehicle spoiler in a desired position to accommodate increased aerodynamic loads, as the risk of an entrapment event is much lower while the vehicle is moving at high speeds).

[0038] Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a control system 400 for determining whether an entrapment risk condition exists based on vehicle parameters. The system 400 may, for example, be implemented on the vehicle control module 20 of Fig. 1.

[0039] As in Fig. 1, an entrapment risk determination module 416 may be configured to determine whether the entrapment risk is above a specified threshold based on sensed vehicle parameters. The vehicle parameters may include, but are not limited to, vehicle speed (402), transmission state (404), vehicle power mode (406), liftgate status (408), learned end stop (412), spoiler position / engine status (414), etc.

[0040] If the entrapment risk determination module 414 determines that the entrapment risk is below a threshold (e.g., because the vehicle spoiler is in a stowed position, because the vehicle is traveling at a high speed, etc.), the vehicle spoiler actuator(s) 436 are set to high motor torque at 418. For example, the actuator(s) 436 are permitted to operate up to torque values ​​higher than the torque values ​​permitted when an entrapment risk condition is above the threshold.

[0041] As in Fig. 4, when the entrapment hazard determination module 416 determines that the entrapment risk is above a threshold and the entrapment protection is set to ON, the actuator(s) 436 is / are set to operate at a lower torque at 420 that is lower than the torque allowed at 418 when the entrapment hazard is not present.

[0042] System 400 may also determine whether a pinch event has occurred via pinch event determination module 434. For example, system 400 may be configured to process the current of actuator(s) 436 during movement at 422 and determine a pinch threshold at 424 (e.g., based on the instantaneous motor current).

[0043] At 426, system 400 determines whether the moving average of the motor current is above the threshold. If so, or if the system determines at 428 that an output shaft of actuator(s) 436 differs from a motor angle, pinch event determination module 434 may be configured to determine that a pinch event has occurred (e.g., due to OR operator 432).

[0044] The entrapment event determination module 434 may be configured to determine whether the spoiler position is in an entrapment risk zone at 430 to identify whether control of the actuator(s) 436 should be changed (e.g., to stop an entrapment event or to provide relief during an entrapment event).

[0045] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a control system 500 for determining whether an entrapment hazard event has occurred. The system 500 may be similar to the system 400 of Fig. 4 and may include a motor motion control module 536 configured to adjust the movement of the actuator(s) 436 according to the sensed motor parameters of the actuator(s) 436.

[0046] For example, the system 500 may monitor the movement status of a motor at 522 and determine whether a difference between a target position of the spoiler and a current position of the spoiler is greater than a threshold at 530. If the motor has stopped but the spoiler is not in the target position, this may indicate that an entrapment event has occurred due to an obstacle preventing the vehicle spoiler from reaching the target position.

[0047] System 500 may monitor the engine speed at 524 and determine whether the engine speed is below a threshold at 532. For example, an engine speed below a threshold may indicate that an entrapment event has occurred due to an obstruction preventing the motor from moving the vehicle spoiler above a target speed.

[0048] System 500 may monitor motor speed at 524 and determine whether the position of a left actuator motor (and its corresponding left side of the spoiler) differs from the position of a right actuator motor (and its corresponding right side of the spoiler). If the right and left side positions are too far apart, this may indicate a pinch event due to an obstacle blocking one side of the spoiler.

[0049] If any of the above motor parameters indicate a possible entrapment event, the motor motion control module 536 may receive the signals or indications via the OR operator 534 and adjust the operation of the actuator(s) 436.

[0050] In various configurations, the vehicle control module can be configured to perform a learning cycle to learn the vehicle spoiler travel end stops and calculate critical pinch zones within the spoiler travel range. The vehicle control module can adjust the learned positions based on system performance, environmental conditions, etc.

[0051] The vehicle control module may be configured to use vehicle data (e.g., vehicle speed, transmission status, tailgate status, spoiler angle, etc.) to determine whether an entrapment hazard exists. The vehicle may dynamically adjust the spoiler actuator motor torque to achieve higher or optimal performance under normal conditions than under conditions where an entrapment risk may exist.

[0052] In some example embodiments, the vehicle control module may monitor instantaneous motor characteristics during each movement of the vehicle spoiler to evaluate performance and system issues. The vehicle control module may detect misalignment between the motor and the output shaft of the spoiler actuator(s) and use this information to improve entrapment detection and occupant protection.

[0053] In some exemplary embodiments, hardware protection may be implemented to stop the operation of the spoiler actuator when a vehicle tailgate is open and / or the spoiler is obstructed by a foreign object. The vehicle control module may implement control of the speed, torque, and position of the spoiler actuator to adjust behavior based on immediate vehicle requirements (e.g., fast operation of the spoiler movement, quiet actuation, safe actuation to protect occupants or other persons, etc.).

[0054] The vehicle control module can be configured to check for entrapment risk conditions based on vehicle condition parameters and adjust the motor power limits accordingly (e.g., the torque settings of the spoiler actuators). If the risk of entrapment is assessed as possible or probable, the vehicle control module can calculate an instantaneous overcurrent threshold using the average motor current (e.g., recorded for a given duration) at the beginning of each vehicle spoiler movement.

[0055] If the vehicle control module detects that the average current increases and is greater than the previously set overcurrent threshold during vehicle spoiler movement, the vehicle control module can set a detected entrapment flag, which will shut down the motor.

[0056] After verifying that the engine has safely stopped, the vehicle control module can calculate a new target position of the vehicle spoiler to resolve the entrapment condition. This calculation can use the position and direction of the initial movement of the vehicle spoiler when the entrapment event was detected and determine the appropriate engine position / spoiler angle to safely resolve the entrapment condition. The vehicle control module can reset the "entrapment detected" flag to allow the system to return to normal operation after the entrapment event is resolved.

[0057] If the vehicle control module determines that an entrapment risk is unlikely or not expected, the vehicle control module can allow a higher motor power setting (e.g., a higher spoiler actuator torque value can be allowed). When setting a higher motor torque, the overcurrent threshold can be set to a fixed value based on a maximum current / torque capability of the motor. This allows the system to handle a higher countertorque demand that may arise from external environmental loads (e.g., higher aerodynamic loads on the vehicle spoiler at higher speeds).

[0058] Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary, unclaimed method for controlling the movement of a vehicle spoiler. The method may be performed, for example, by the vehicle control module 20 of Fig.1. At 604, the method begins by determining a potential for entrapment based on vehicle condition and speed (and / or other appropriate monitored vehicle parameters).

[0059] At 608, the vehicle control module is configured to determine whether the risk of an entrapment hazard condition is greater than a threshold. If so, the controller sets a spoiler target position at 612 and sets a motor torque to a low value setting at 616. For example, the torque of the spoiler actuator(s) may be limited to or below a low torque value corresponding to a safer torque value for potential occupant or other entrapment events.

[0060] At 620, the vehicle control module is configured to calculate a moving average of the motor current. If the average motor current is not greater than a pinch threshold at 624, control returns to 620 to continue calculating a moving average of the motor current.

[0061] If control determines at 624 that the average motor current exceeds a threshold, control continues at 628 to deactivate the motor (e.g., to avoid applying further force to a potential entrapment event). The vehicle control module is configured to release the entrapment at 632, such as by moving the spoiler in a reverse direction.

[0062] If the relief movement at 636 is unsuccessful, control returns to 632 to continue moving the spoiler to attempt to relieve the entrapment condition. Once the relief movement at 636 is successful, control proceeds to 660 to display an obstruction detection signal and / or a service recommendation message (e.g., to inform the driver that an entrapment event may have occurred and the spoiler should be inspected for possible damage).

[0063] If control determines at 608 that the entrapment risk is not greater than a threshold, control continues at 640 to set a spoiler target position. The vehicle control module is configured to set the motor torque to a high value setting at 644 so that more force can be applied to move the spoiler when the risk of an entrapment event is low or approximately zero.

[0064] At 648, the vehicle control module is configured to detect a spoiler actuator motor current. If the motor current exceeds a static maximum current threshold at 652, control proceeds to 656 to deactivate the motor. Control then proceeds to 660 to display an obstruction detection signal and / or a service recommendation message.

[0065] It is understood that one or more steps within a method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Furthermore, although the embodiments are each described above as having specific features, each one or more of these features described with respect to one embodiment of the disclosure may be implemented with and / or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if this combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and an interchange of one or more embodiments remains within the scope of this disclosure.

[0066] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including "connected," "engaging," "coupled," "adjacent," "beside," "on top of," "above," "below," and "disposed." If a relationship between first and second elements is not explicitly described as "direct" in the above disclosure, that relationship may be a direct relationship, with no other intervening elements between the first and second elements, or an indirect relationship, with one or more intervening elements (either spatial or functional) between the first and second elements.As used herein, the term "A, B and / or C" should be configured as logical (A ORed with B ORed with C) using a non-exclusive logical OR and should not be understood as "at least one of A, at least one of B and at least one of C".

[0067] In the figures, the direction of an arrow, as indicated by the arrowhead, generally illustrates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) of interest to the illustration. For example, if element A and element B exchange a lot of information, but the information passed from element A to element B is relevant to the illustration, the arrow may point from element A to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information is passed from element B to element A. Furthermore, for information being sent from element A to element B, element B may send requests for or acknowledgments of receipt of the information to element A.

[0068] For the purposes of this application, which includes the definitions below, the term "module" or the term "controller" may be replaced by the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit, a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit, a combinational logic circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), processor circuitry (common, dedicated, or group) executing code, memory circuitry (common, dedicated, or group) storing code executed by the processor circuitry, other suitable hardware components providing the described functionality, or a combination of some or all of the above components, e.g., in a system-on-chip.

[0069] The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple modules may enable load balancing. In another example, a server module (also referred to as a remote or cloud module) may perform some functions on behalf of a client module.

[0070] The term "code" as used above may include software, firmware, and / or microcode and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and / or objects. The term "common processor circuitry" includes a single processor circuitry that executes code from multiple modules, in part or in whole. The term "group processor circuitry" includes a processor circuitry that, in combination with additional processor circuitry, executes code from one or more modules, in part or in whole. References to multiple processor circuitry include multiple processor circuitry on discrete chips, multiple processor circuitry on a single chip, multiple cores of a single processor circuitry, multiple threads of a single processor circuitry, or a combination thereof. The term "shared memory circuitry" includes a single memory circuitry that stores code from multiple modules, in part or in whole.The term “group memory circuit” includes a memory circuit that, in combination with additional memories, stores some or all of the code from one or more modules.

[0071] The term "memory circuit" is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term "computer-readable medium," as used herein, does not include transient electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (e.g., on a carrier wave); the term "computer-readable medium" can therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium include non-volatile memory circuits (e.g., a flash memory circuit, an erasable programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only memory circuit), volatile memory circuits (e.g., a static random access memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (e.g., an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive), and optical storage media (e.g., a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc).

[0072] The devices and methods described in this application may be implemented partially or entirely by a special-purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions contained in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications that can be translated into computer programs through the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

[0073] The computer programs comprise processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also include or be based on stored data. The computer programs may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of the special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of the special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0074] The computer programs may comprise: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, e.g. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from source code by a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. By way of example only, source code may be written using the syntax of languages ​​including C, C++, C#, ObjectiveC, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th Revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK and Python®.

Claims

[1] Vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400), comprising: a vehicle spoiler (22; 222); at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) configured to move the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) relative to a surface (228) of a vehicle (10); one or more vehicle sensors (21) configured to receive at least one vehicle parameter; and characterized by a vehicle control module (20; 416) configured to detects a spoiler entrapment hazard according to at least one vehicle parameter; controls the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to operate with a torque that is less than or equal to a first torque value when it is determined that the spoiler pinching risk is greater than a threshold value; and controlling the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to operate with a torque that is less than or equal to a second torque value when it is determined that the spoiler pinching risk is less than the threshold value, the second torque value being greater than the first torque value, and fault detection logic is used to determine whether an output shaft of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) and a motor angle of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) are misaligned to stop operation of the spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) and thus inhibit further movement or rotation of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222). [2] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 1, wherein the at least one vehicle parameter comprises at least one of a vehicle speed (402), a vehicle transmission state (404), a vehicle tailgate status (408), a spoiler end stop position (412), or a spoiler angle. [3] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 1, wherein: the one or more vehicle sensors (21) are configured to receive a current from the at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436); and the vehicle control module (20; 416) is configured to compare the current of the at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) with an overcurrent threshold to determine whether a pinch condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) has occurred. [4] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 3, wherein the vehicle control module (20; 416) is configured to, upon determining that the pinching condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) has occurred, stop operation of the at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to inhibit further movement or rotation of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222). [5] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 4, wherein the vehicle control module (20; 416) is configured to, when it is determined that the pinch condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) has occurred, reverse the operation of the spoiler actuator (22; 222) to move the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) to a target relief position to relieve the pinch condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222). [6] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 1, wherein: the one or more vehicle sensors (21) are configured to receive one or more spoiler actuator parameters; and the vehicle control module (20; 416) is configured to determine whether a pinch condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) has occurred according to the one or more spoiler actuator parameters. [7] The vehicle spoiler control system (200; 400) of claim 6, wherein the vehicle control module (20; 416) is configured to, when it is determined that the pinch condition of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222) has occurred, stop the operation of the at least one spoiler actuator (24; 224, 226; 436) to inhibit further movement or rotation of the vehicle spoiler (22; 222).

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