Power Window Pinch Detection Using Motor Current Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-pinch technologies for power windows in vehicles require additional sensors, which increase costs and complexity, and fail to account for temperature and material aging, leading to potential safety issues and non-compliance with stringent regulations.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses the window's downward movement to generate and store an up-to-date profile of physical quantities, such as armature current, to detect potential pinches, without the need for sensors, by creating exclusion zones and shifting profiles to account for current conditions, ensuring safety and compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional sensors (force or speed sensors) are used to detect pinches, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The motor itself serves as the sensing element by monitoring its own current consumption. The control unit detects pinch conditions by analyzing current variations during window operation, eliminating the need for separate force or speed sensors. This self-service approach maintains measurement precision while reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical sensing systems (physical force sensors) with an electrical sensing approach. By measuring electrical current consumed by the motor during operation, the system infers mechanical load conditions and detects pinches without direct mechanical contact sensors.
2Device complexity
If factory-set reference values are used for pinch detection, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to temperature and material aging deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a learning phase during normal window operation to establish reference current values specific to the vehicle's environmental conditions and material properties. This preliminary action allows the system to adapt to temperature variations and material aging without requiring complex real-time adjustments during pinch detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors motor current during window operation and compares it against learned reference values. When deviations exceed thresholds, the system identifies potential pinch conditions. This feedback mechanism maintains simplicity while improving adaptability through continuous learning from actual operating conditions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for detecting potential pinches (pi) caused by at least one powered movable panel between a closed position (P2) and an open position (P1), by: - measuring a physical quantity (ia, n) at a plurality of panel positions (X1, X2, X3, ... Xn) when the panel is moved towards the open position so as to get a first profile (Pr1), - measuring said physical quantity in a reference position (P3), when the panel is moved towards the closed position, and determining an offset value (Of), - determining a second profile (Pr2) by shifting the first profile of a shifting value (Sh), - measuring said physical quantity in a repetitive manner when the panel is moved towards the closed position so as to get a third profile (Pr3), and - detecting a potential pinch if the third profile crosses the second profile.