JP6963513B2 - Door switchgear and handle device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a door opening / closing device and a handle device.

Conventionally, there has been known a technique for unlocking a door triggered by a user touching an operation handle provided on a vehicle door. The operation handle is equipped with a capacitance sensor that detects a human body that comes into contact with or approaches the operation handle by using a change in capacitance. Further, in recent years, a method of opening and closing the slide door provided on the side surface of the vehicle body has been proposed by using a swipe operation that traces the operation handle in the desired direction to open and close.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a capacitance detection device having a configuration in which two capacitance sensors are arranged on a door operation handle. Capacitance sensors are arranged on the front side and the rear side of the operation handle in the longitudinal direction of the operation handle, respectively. In this device, a user operation (gesture) accompanied by a direction can be detected by moving the hand along the operation handle and moving the hand from one capacitance sensor to the other capacitance sensor. ..

JP-A-2017-83402

However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, two capacitance sensors are present at the grip position of the operation handle. Therefore, when the hands are brought into contact with each other to grasp the operation handle, the two capacitance sensors react with each other, which may be erroneously detected as a swipe operation.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable door opening / closing device and handle device by suppressing the occurrence of false positives.

In order to solve such a problem, the first invention relates to a door opening / closing device. This door opening / closing device is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a handle unit having a grip portion that serves as a handle when opening / closing the door, and a plurality of electrostatic devices arranged on the handle unit to detect a user's contact state with the handle unit. Based on the detection results of the capacitance sensor, the door drive unit that opens and closes the door, and the detection results of multiple capacitance sensors, the user operation that traces the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction along the shape of the handle unit is specified. It has a control unit that controls the opening and closing of the door based on the direction of the user operation. In this case, the plurality of capacitance sensors are arranged separately on both sides of the handle unit with the grip portion separated.

The second invention relates to a handle device. This handle device is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a handle unit having a grip portion that serves as a handle when the door is opened and closed, and a user operation that traces the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction along the shape of the handle unit. It has a plurality of capacitance sensors for detecting. In this case, the plurality of capacitance sensors are arranged separately on both sides of the handle unit with the grip portion separated.

Here, in the present invention, the handle unit includes an operation handle that includes a grip portion and performs a rotation operation toward the outside of the door, and escutcheons that are arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the operation handle. Is preferable. In this case, it is desirable that the plurality of capacitance sensors are separately arranged on the operation handle and the escutcheon.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the door is a sliding door that is arranged on the side surface of the vehicle and moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the steering wheel unit is arranged on the sliding door along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In this case, it is desirable that the control unit controls the opening and closing of the sliding door so as to match the direction of the user operation.

According to the present invention, since false detection can be suppressed, a highly reliable system can be provided.

Block diagram showing the control configuration of the vehicle door opening / closing device Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the door handle device equipped in the sliding door Explanatory drawing showing a swipe operation for a handle unit Flow chart showing the flow of opening and closing operation of the sliding door by the vehicle door opening and closing device

Hereinafter, the door opening / closing device according to the present embodiment will be described by exemplifying the vehicle door opening / closing device 1. Here, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the vehicle door opening / closing device 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a door handle device 10 mounted on the sliding door 2. In FIG. 2, FIG. 2A is a view showing the appearance of the door handle device 10 from the front, and FIG. 2B is a view schematically showing a cross-sectional state of the door handle device 10.

The vehicle door opening / closing device 1 is a device that controls the opening / closing of the sliding door 2 mounted on the vehicle. The sliding door 2 is supported on the side surface of the vehicle body, and moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to open and close the door opening provided on the side surface of the vehicle body. The sliding door 2 is fully closed when it is located at the frontmost position, and conversely, it is fully opened when it is located at the rearmost position. The sliding door 2 is provided with a door lock device 3. The door lock device 3 is a device that keeps the sliding door 2 in a locked state. On the other hand, in the unlocked state, the slide door 2 can be moved in the opening direction.

The vehicle door opening / closing device 1 is mainly composed of a door handle device 10, a sensor input unit 40, an authentication unit 50, a lock drive unit 60, a door drive unit 70, and a door control unit 80.

The door handle device 10 is arranged on the sliding door 2. The door handle device 10 according to the present embodiment is a door outside handle device arranged outside the sliding door 2. The door handle device 10 has a handle base 11 arranged on the back surface side of the door panel of the slide door 2, and a handle unit 12 connected to the handle base 11 and arranged on the outer surface (outer surface of the door panel) of the slide door 2. It is assembled to the slide door 2 in a posture along the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

The handle unit 12 is composed of an operation handle 12a and an escutcheon 12b.

The operation handle 12a has a shape that is elongated along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. At the center of the operation handle 12a, a grip portion 12a1 for the user to grip the operation handle 12a is provided. The grip portion 12a1 is separated from the outer surface of the slide door 2 so as to form a space for inserting a hand. The operation handle 12a is assembled by connecting a hinge piece (not shown) formed at one end of the operation handle 12a in the longitudinal direction to the handle base 11. By connecting the hinge piece and the handle base 11, the operation handle 12a is pivotally supported so as to be horizontally rotatable. The operation handle 12a rotates by grasping the grip portion 12a1 and pulling it toward the front side (outside of the slide door 2), and when the hand is released from the operation handle 12a, the operation handle 12a receives a force of a torsion spring (not shown) and returns to the initial position. And return (rotate).

The operation handle 12a has a general handle function, and functions as an operation unit in which the user performs a rotation operation by using the grip portion 12a1 of the operation handle 12a as a handle when opening and closing the slide door 2. Further, in the present embodiment, the operation handle 12a also functions as an operation unit in which the user performs a contact operation with respect to the surface of the operation handle 12a when the slide door 2 is opened and closed.

The operation handle 12a is configured by fitting a front cover 13 forming the front surface thereof and a back cover 14 forming the back surface thereof. The front cover 13 and the back cover 14 are made of, for example, a synthetic resin material in order to reduce the weight and enable wireless communication by the antenna 30 described later.

The escutcheon 12b is arranged in front of the operation handle 12a, and is provided adjacent to the front end side of the operation handle 12a. The escutcheon 12b is assembled by connecting it to the handle base 11. The escutcheon 12b functions as a decorative member that covers the opening formed in the door panel of the sliding door 2.

The door handle device 10 further includes two capacitance sensors 20, an antenna 30, and the like. The two capacitance sensors 20, the antenna 30, and the like are housed in the handle unit 12. These electronic components are electrically connected to a harness for external connection, and the harness is pulled out from the handle unit 12 and connected to the vehicle side.

The two capacitance sensors 20 detect a user's contact state (including an approach state) with the handle unit 12. In the present embodiment, a swipe operation of tracing the handle unit 12 along its shape, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the handle unit 12 with a finger is adopted as one of the user operations. The two capacitance sensors 20 are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the handle unit 12, whereby the swipe operation and its direction can be detected.

In the present embodiment, the two capacitance sensors 20 are arranged separately on both sides of the handle unit 12 with the grip portion 12a1 separated from each other. That is, in the handle unit 12, the region R1 behind the grip portion 12a1 and the region R2 in front of the grip portion 12a1 are the placement regions for the capacitance sensor 20. Specifically, one of the capacitance sensors 20 is arranged behind the grip portion 12a1 of the operation handle 12a. The other capacitance sensor 20 is arranged on the escutcheon 12b located in front of the operation handle 12a.

Each capacitance sensor 20 is mainly composed of a sensor electrode 21 and a control board 22.

The sensor electrode 21 detects a change in capacitance in response to contact with the handle unit 12 by the human body. The sensor electrode 21 is connected to the control board 22, and a driving voltage is applied at a predetermined cycle.

The control board 22 detects the user's contact state with the handle unit 12 based on the change in the capacitance of the sensor electrode 21. The information detected on the control board 22 is output to the sensor input unit 40.

The antenna 30 communicates with the portable device K owned by the user.

The sensor input unit 40 is connected to the capacitance sensor 20 and monitors the output from the capacitance sensor 20. When the sensor input unit 40 receives an output from the capacitance sensor 20, it outputs the output to the door control unit 80.

The authentication unit 50 is connected to the antenna 30 and operates under the control of the door control unit 80. The authentication unit 50 can communicate with the portable device K owned by the user via the antenna 30. When the authentication unit 50 receives the unique ID information transmitted from the portable device K, the authentication unit 50 collates the ID information with the ID stored in advance (authentication processing). If the two match, the authentication unit 50 outputs information indicating that the authentication is established to the door control unit 80. This authentication operation is performed by triggering the reception of ID information transmitted from the portable device K by the user operating the switch of the portable device K. Alternatively, when the ID information transmitted from the portable device K is received in response to the ID request signal transmitted from the authentication unit 50 via the antenna 30, the reception of the ID information may be used as a trigger.

The lock drive unit 60 is connected to the door lock device 3 and operates under the control of the door control unit 80. The lock drive unit 60 can switch between the locked state and the unlocked state by driving the door lock device 3.

The door drive unit 70 includes an actuator such as a motor and a drive mechanism such as a drive cable. The door driving unit 70 transmits the driving force generated in the actuator to the sliding door 2 via the driving mechanism, whereby the sliding door 2 is moved in the opening direction or the closing direction.

The door control unit 80 comprehensively controls the vehicle door opening / closing device 1. The door control unit 80 controls the lock drive unit 60 and the door drive unit 70 based on the information input from the capacitance sensor 20 via the sensor input unit 40 and the information input from the authentication unit 50. Controls the opening and closing of the slide door 2. As the door control unit 80, a microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an I / O interface can be used.

Hereinafter, the control concept of the vehicle door opening / closing device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a swipe operation on the handle unit 12. In the present embodiment, opening and closing of the slide door 2 is realized by swiping the surface of the handle unit 12 including the operation handle 12a and the escutcheon 12b according to the opening / closing direction of the slide door 2.

For example, if the slide door 2 is operated in the closing direction, the handle unit 12 is swiped in the closing direction of the slide door 2. When the swipe operation is performed in the closing direction of the slide door 2, the user's finger moves the operation handle 12a from the back to the front to reach the escutcheon 12b. At this time, the user's finger passes through the two capacitance sensors 20 in order. Therefore, after the user's contact is detected by the capacitance sensor 20 on the rear side (rear region R1 side), the user's contact is detected by the capacitance sensor 20 on the front side (front region R2 side). Become. Therefore, if the sensor outputs of the two capacitance sensors 20 are monitored, the swipe operation from the back to the front with respect to the handle unit 12 can be detected from these detection results.

On the other hand, if the slide door 2 is to be operated in the opening direction, the handle unit 12 is swiped in the opening direction of the slide door 2. When the swipe operation is performed in the opening direction of the slide door 2, the user's finger reaches the operation handle 12a from the escutcheon 12b and moves the operation handle 12a from the front to the rear. In this case, after the user's contact is detected by the front capacitance sensor 20, the user's contact is detected by the rear capacitance sensor 20. Therefore, if the sensor outputs of the two capacitance sensors 20 are monitored, the swipe operation from front to back with respect to the handle unit 12 can be detected from these detection results.

Then, the door control unit 80 controls the door drive unit 70 based on the direction of the swipe operation, and opens and closes the slide door 2 so as to match the direction of the swipe operation.

Next, the opening / closing operation of the sliding door 2 by the vehicle door opening / closing device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of opening / closing operation of the sliding door 2 by the vehicle door opening / closing device 1. The process shown in this flowchart is executed by the door control unit 80.

First, in step S10, the door control unit 80 waits for inputs from the two capacitance sensors 20. When there is an input from any of the capacitance sensors 20, the standby process ends and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not the swipe operation has been performed. If the user's contact is detected by the rear capacitance sensor 20 and then the user's contact is detected by the front capacitance sensor 20, and these detections are continuously performed, the rear It means that a swipe operation from to forward has been performed. On the contrary, after the user's contact is detected by the front capacitance sensor 20, the user's contact is detected by the rear capacitance sensor 20, and these detections are continuously performed. If so, it means that a swipe operation has been performed from front to back. The door control unit 80 monitors the sensor outputs of the two capacitance sensors 20 and makes a determination in step S11.

When the swipe operation is performed, an affirmative determination is made in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, when a user operation other than the swipe operation is performed, a negative determination is made in step S11, and the process returns to step S10.

In step S12, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not the direction of the swipe operation satisfies the prohibition condition. For example, when the slide door 2 is fully closed, the slide door 2 cannot be moved in the closing direction. Therefore, when the slide door 2 is fully closed, a swipe operation in the closing direction, that is, a swipe operation from the rear to the front is a prohibited condition. Similarly, when the slide door 2 is fully open, the slide door 2 cannot be moved in the opening direction. Therefore, when the slide door 2 is fully open, a swipe operation in the opening direction, that is, a swipe operation from front to back is a prohibited condition. Therefore, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not the prohibition condition is satisfied based on the state of the sliding door 2 and the direction of the swipe operation.

If an affirmative decision is made in step S12, that is, if the direction of the swipe operation satisfies the prohibition condition, the process returns to step S10. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S12, that is, if the direction of the swipe operation does not satisfy the prohibition condition, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the door control unit 80 controls the door drive unit 70 based on the direction of the swipe operation. As a result, the sliding door 2 is driven by the door driving unit 70, and the sliding door 2 is moved in the direction of the swipe operation. For example, when the swipe operation is performed from the rear to the front, the door control unit 80 determines that the swipe operation has been performed in the closing direction, and moves the slide door 2 in the closing direction. On the other hand, when the swipe operation is performed from the front to the rear, the door control unit 80 determines that the swipe operation has been performed in the opening direction, and moves the slide door 2 in the opening direction.

In step S14, the door control unit 80 monitors the sensor outputs of the two capacitance sensors 20 and determines whether or not a user operation has been performed on the handle unit 12. The determination in step S14 applies to all user operations including non-swipe operations, regardless of the swipe operation.

If an affirmative determination is made in step S14, that is, if a user operation is performed on the handle unit 12, the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S14, that is, if no user operation has been performed on the handle unit 12, the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S15, the door control unit 80 controls the door drive unit 70 to stop the slide door 2.

In step S16, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not the sliding door 2 is fully closed or fully opened. Specifically, when the sliding door 2 moving in the closing direction is fully closed, or when the sliding door 2 moving in the opening direction is fully opened, an affirmative determination is made in step S16, and the present invention is performed. End the routine. On the other hand, if the slide door 2 has not been fully closed or fully opened, a negative determination is made in step S16, and the process returns to step S14.

Through such a series of processes, the door control unit 80 controls the opening / closing of the sliding door 2.

In the above description of the flowchart, it is premised that the door lock device 3 is in the unlocked state when the slide door 2 is fully closed at the start of processing. However, even when the sliding door 2 is in the locked state, the processing flow is basically the same, but the difference is that the following processing is added. Specifically, the door control unit 80 controls the authentication unit 50 to perform the authentication process after completing the standby process (step S10), and proceeds to the process after step S11 after the authentication is established. Further, in step S13, the door control unit 80 controls the lock drive unit 60 to switch the door lock device 3 to the unlocked state prior to the control of the door drive unit 70.

Further, in the state where the sliding door 2 is moved to the fully closed state, the door lock device 3 can be switched to the locked state by operating the switch of the portable device K or the request switch mounted on the door handle device 10. can.

Further, the process shown in the above flowchart is not limited to the case where the slide door 2 is fully closed or fully opened at the start of the process, and the slide door 2 is stopped at an arbitrary position between the fully closed and fully open at the start of the process. It is applicable even when the door is half open. When the door is half-opened, the sliding door 2 can be moved in any direction. Therefore, in the process in step S12, the prohibition condition is not satisfied regardless of the direction of the swipe operation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the vehicle door opening / closing device 1 is provided on the handle unit 12 and the handle unit 12 which are arranged on the outer surface of the slide door 2 and include a grip portion 12a1 which serves as a handle when the slide door 2 is opened / closed. Based on the detection results of the two capacitance sensors 20 that are arranged and detect the user's contact state with the handle unit 12, the door drive unit 70 that opens and closes the sliding door 2, and the two capacitance sensors 20. It has a door control unit 80 that specifies a user operation that traces the surface of the handle unit 12 along the shape of the handle unit 12 and controls opening and closing of the slide door 2 based on the direction of the user operation. Then, the two capacitance sensors 20 are arranged separately on both sides of the handle unit 12 with the grip portion 12a1 separated from each other.

According to this configuration, the two capacitance sensors 20 are divided and arranged at positions separated from the grip portion 12a1. In a configuration in which two capacitance sensors 20 are built in the grip portion 12a1, there is a possibility that this operation will be erroneously detected as a swipe operation when the user touches the grip portion 12a1 to grip the grip portion 12a1. There is. In that respect, according to the present embodiment, the capacitance sensor 20 is arranged at a position where there is no contact with the hand, and the two capacitance sensors 20 are separated by the distance of the grip portion 12a1. .. Therefore, when the grip portion 12a1 is gripped, the two capacitance sensors 20 do not react continuously. As a result, it is possible to suppress a situation in which a swipe operation is erroneously detected. As a result, a highly reliable system can be provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the handle unit 12 is provided with the grip portion 12a1 and is arranged side by side with the operation handle 12a that rotates toward the outside of the slide door 2 along the longitudinal direction of the operation handle 12a. It is equipped with an escutcheon 12b. In this case, the two capacitance sensors 20 are separately arranged on the operation handle 12a and the escutcheon 12b, respectively.

According to this configuration, it is possible to secure a large distance between the two capacitance sensors 20. As a result, false detection of swipe operation can be suppressed, so that a highly reliable system can be provided.

However, if the requirement that the handle unit 12 is divided into the rear region R1 from the grip portion 12a1 and the front region R2 from the grip portion 12a1 is satisfied, two electrostatic charges are applied to the operation handle 12a. A capacitance sensor 20 may be provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the door control unit 80 moves the slide door 2 so as to coincide with the direction of the swipe operation.

According to this configuration, the slide door 2 can be opened and closed by a sensory operation, so that the usability of the user can be improved.

Although the door opening / closing device according to the present embodiment has been described above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, the door opening / closing device may be applied not only to a sliding door for a vehicle but also to a sliding door laid in a building or equipment. A door handle device that functions as a part of the door opening / closing device also functions as a part of the present invention. The present invention is also widely applicable to a handle device for operating a structure other than a door.

Further, in the present embodiment, the swipe operation accompanied by the linear movement has been described, but the present invention has the aspect as long as it detects a contact operation involving a direction, which is performed along the shape of the operation portion. Not limited. For example, when the operation unit has an L-shaped curved shape, it is also applicable to an operation in which a finger is moved in any direction along the shape of the operation unit.

Further, in the present embodiment, the two capacitance sensors are arranged separately one by one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a set of one or more capacitance sensors may be divided and arranged.

1 Vehicle door opening / closing device 2 Sliding door 3 Door lock device 10 Door handle device 11 Handle base 12 Handle unit 12a Operation handle 12b Escushion 12a1 Grip 13 Front cover 14 Back cover 20 Capacitive sensor 21 Sensor electrode 22 Control board 30 Antenna 40 Sensor input unit 50 Authentication unit 60 Lock drive unit 70 Door drive unit 80 Door control unit (control unit)
K mobile phone

Claims (4)

A handle unit that is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a grip that serves as a handle when the door is opened and closed.
A plurality of capacitance sensors arranged on the handle unit to detect the user's contact state with the handle unit, and
A door drive unit that opens and closes the door,
Based on the detection results of the plurality of capacitance sensors, the user operation of tracing the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction along the shape of the handle unit is specified, and the user operation is specified based on the direction of the user operation. It has a control unit that controls the opening and closing of the door,
The plurality of capacitance sensors are door opening / closing devices arranged in the handle unit so as to be divided on both sides of the grip portion. The handle unit is
An operation handle provided with the grip portion for rotating the door toward the outside,
With escutcheons arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the operating handle,
The door opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of capacitance sensors are separately arranged in the operation handle and the escutcheon. The door is a sliding door that is arranged on the side surface of the vehicle and moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
The steering wheel unit is arranged on the sliding door along the vehicle front-rear direction.
The door opening / closing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls opening / closing of the sliding door so as to match the direction of the user operation. A handle unit that is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a grip that serves as a handle when the door is opened and closed.
It has a plurality of capacitance sensors for detecting a user operation of tracing the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction along the shape of the handle unit.
The plurality of capacitance sensors are handle devices that are separately arranged on both sides of the handle unit with the grip portion interposed therebetween.

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