JP7221035B2 - Vehicle door operator - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, multiple sensors were installed on the handle of the sliding door, and the operation of tracing the surface of the handle in the desired direction (hereinafter referred to as swipe operation) was detected by multiple sensors, and the opening operation and closing operation of the sliding door could be detected. A handle device is known (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 5309515

However, unlike the steering wheel device described in Patent Document 1, the surface of the steering wheel does not face the vehicle side, and the mounting position of the steering wheel is also mounted at a position where the user can easily operate the steering wheel. The surface may be touched and the door may malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the possibility of malfunction of the door when the user unintentionally touches the surface of the handle. To provide a vehicle door opening/closing device capable of reducing

To achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a handle device and a door control section. The handle device includes a first capacitive sensor provided at a first position for detecting a swipe operation of tracing the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction, and a first capacitance sensor provided at a second position different from the first position for detecting a user operation. and a second capacitive sensor. The door control unit executes control for opening or closing the door when the first capacitance sensor detects a swipe operation and the second capacitance sensor detects a user operation. The first position is a position where the first capacitance sensor can detect a swipe operation that traces the upper surface forming the surface of the handle unit, but the second capacitance sensor cannot detect it. The second position is a position where the user's operation on the upright surface that constitutes the surface of the handle unit can be detected by the second capacitance sensor and not detected by the first capacitance sensor.
Another invention includes a handle device and a door control section. The handle device includes a first capacitive sensor provided at a first position for detecting a swipe operation of tracing the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction, and a first capacitance sensor provided at a second position different from the first position for detecting a user operation. and a second capacitive sensor. The door control unit executes control for opening or closing the door when the first capacitance sensor detects a swipe operation and the second capacitance sensor detects a user operation. The handle unit has a recess extending in a predetermined direction on its surface. The first position is a position in contact with or close to the bottom surface of the recess. The first capacitance sensor is capable of detecting a swipe operation that traces the bottom surface of the concave portion of the handle unit.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a handle device capable of reducing the possibility of malfunction of the door when the user unintentionally touches the surface of the handle.

2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the vehicle door opening/closing device according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a handle device that is a part of the vehicle door opening/closing device shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a front view showing the appearance of the handle device, and (b) is 2B-2B of (a). FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view, and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2C-2C of (a). 4 is a flowchart showing a control method of the vehicle door opening/closing device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a handle device according to a second embodiment, (a) is a front view showing the appearance of the handle device, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of (a).

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below along with preferred embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. In addition, in the embodiments shown below, there are places where illustrations and explanations of some configurations are omitted, but the details of the omitted technologies are as long as there is no contradiction with the contents explained below. Needless to say, well-known or well-known techniques are applied as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the vehicle door opening/closing device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a handle device that is a part of the vehicle door opening/closing device shown in FIG. be. 2(a) is a front view showing the appearance of the handle device, FIG. 2(b) is a sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2(a), and FIG. 2(c) is a view of FIG. 2(a). 2C-2C cross-sectional view of FIG.

A vehicle door opening/closing device 1 is a device for opening and closing a slide door 2 of a vehicle. The sliding door 2 is supported on the side surface of the vehicle body, and moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to open and close a door opening provided on the side surface of the vehicle body. The slide door 2 is in a fully closed state when positioned at the most forward position, and is fully opened when positioned at the most rearward position.

The door lock device 3 is provided on the slide door 2 and changes the slide door 2 between a locked state and an unlocked state. When the door lock device 3 locks the slide door 2, the slide door 2 is kept closed. On the other hand, when the door lock device 3 puts the slide door 2 in the unlocked state, the slide door 2 can move in the opening direction.

Such a vehicle door opening/closing device 1 includes a handle device 10 , an antenna 30 , a sensor input section 40 , an authentication section 50 , a lock drive section 60 , a door drive section 70 and a door control section 80 .

The handle device 10 is, for example, an outside handle device arranged outside the slide door 2, and includes an operation handle (handle unit) 12 having a grip portion 12a that serves as a handle when the slide door 2 is opened and closed. there is The operation handle 12 is installed, for example, so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is the longitudinal direction. The grip portion 12a is provided with a predetermined distance from the outer surface of the sliding door 2 so as to form a space for inserting a hand. The user can rotate the operating handle 12 by pulling the grip portion 12a of the operating handle 12 toward the user while gripping the grip portion 12a, thereby releasing the latch mechanism (not shown).

Such an operation handle 12 is constructed by fitting together a front cover 13 forming the front surface thereof and a rear cover 14 forming the rear surface thereof (the surface on the slide door 2 side). A hollow portion 12 b is formed between the front cover 13 and the back cover 14 . The front cover 13 and the back cover 14 are made of, for example, a synthetic resin material for weight reduction. Further, the surface cover 13 is formed with a concave portion 13a extending in its longitudinal direction.

The handle device 10 includes a first capacitance sensor 21, a second capacitance sensor 22, and a control board 23 inside the hollow portion 12b. The first capacitance sensor 21 and the second capacitance sensor 22 react when a user's finger approaches, and are arranged so as to be clamped and fixed between the front cover 13 and the back cover 14 . In particular, the first capacitive sensor 21 and the second capacitive sensor 22 are configured to be able to detect the position where the user's finger is close to, like a touch panel of a smart phone or the like.

The first capacitance sensor 21 is a sensor that has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c), the first electrostatic capacitance sensor 21 is located at a position (first position) in contact with (or close to) the bottom surface 13b of the concave portion 13a in the hollow portion 12b. example) is provided to extend in the longitudinal direction. Such a first capacitance sensor 21 is configured to detect a change in capacitance in response to finger contact (or approach) to the concave portion 13a. In addition, the first capacitance sensor 21 is arranged so as not to detect even if the user touches both sides 13c of the recessed portion 13a projecting outward from the sliding door 2 from the bottom surface 13b of the recessed portion 13a. It is provided (so that the change in capacitance does not exceed the detection threshold in the control board 23).

Similarly to the first capacitance sensor 21, the second capacitance sensor 22 is a sensor that has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front as shown in FIG. It is provided so that As shown in FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c), the second capacitance sensor 22 is located on both sides 13c (an example of a second position different from the first position) of the recessed portion 13a in the hollow portion 12b. provided to extend longitudinally. Such a second capacitance sensor 22 can detect not only finger contact (or approach) to both sides 13c of the surface cover 13, but also finger contact (or approach) to the concave portion 13a. ing.

The control board 23 drives and controls the first capacitance sensor 21 and the second capacitance sensor 22 . In addition, the control board 23 monitors the change position of the capacitance in the first capacitance sensor 21 to determine whether the user has performed a swipe operation on the concave portion 13a and whether the swipe direction is forward or backward. It detects whether it is the direction or not. Note that the control board 23 can detect not only swipe operations but also other user operations such as touch operations. Furthermore, the control board 23 also detects user operations on both sides 13 c based on changes in the capacitance of the second capacitance sensor 22 .

An antenna 30 shown in FIG. 1 communicates with a portable device K possessed by a user.

The sensor input unit 40 is connected to the control board 23 on the side of the handle device 10 and inputs information on the detection result from the control board 23 . When the control board 23 outputs information, the sensor input section 40 outputs the information to the door control section 80 .

The authentication unit 50 is connected to the antenna 30 and communicates with the portable device K possessed by the user via the antenna 30 . Upon receiving the unique ID information transmitted from the portable device K, the authentication unit 50 collates this ID information with an ID stored in advance. If the two match, the authentication unit 50 outputs information to that effect to the door control unit 80 .

The lock drive unit 60 is connected to the door lock device 3 and drives the door lock device 3 to switch the slide door 2 between the locked state and the unlocked state.

The door drive unit 70 includes an actuator such as a motor and a drive mechanism such as a drive cable. The drive force generated by the actuator is transmitted to the slide door 2 via the drive mechanism, and the slide door 2 is opened or closed. It moves in 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 driving unit 60 and the door driving unit 70 based on the information from the control board 23 input via the sensor input unit 40 and the information input from the authentication unit 50, and slides. It controls the opening and closing of the door 2. A microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an I/O interface can be used as the door control unit 80 .

Here, in the present embodiment, the door control unit 80 detects the swipe operation of tracing the surface of the operation handle 12 in the longitudinal direction (predetermined direction) by the first electrostatic capacitance sensor 21 and detects the user operation by the second electrostatic sensor 21 . When detected by the capacitance sensor 22, control for opening or closing the slide door 2 is executed. Whether to open or close the slide door 2 is determined by the swipe direction detected by the control board 23 .

In particular, in this embodiment, the first capacitance sensor 21 is provided so as not to detect a swipe operation on both sides 13 c of the front cover 13 . Therefore, even if the user unintentionally touches the surface cover 13, the first capacitance sensor 21 does not respond unless the user is performing a specific operation such as inserting a finger into the recess 13a, causing the sliding door 2 to malfunction. You can reduce the chances of it happening.

Further, in the present embodiment, the door control unit 80 controls the operation of the sliding door 2 when the second capacitance sensor 22 detects a user operation while the sliding door 2 is in the process of opening or closing. Execute control to stop. Therefore, when it is necessary to stop the sliding door 2 urgently, the sliding door 2 can be easily stopped simply by touching the surface cover 13 (both sides 13c).

Next, a control method of the vehicle door opening/closing device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a control method of the vehicle door opening/closing device 1 according to the first embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed until the vehicle door opening/closing device 1 is powered off (for example, until an accessory switch of the vehicle is turned off).

As shown in FIG. 3, the door control unit 80 first enters an input waiting state of the second capacitance sensor 22 (S1). Next, the door control unit 80 determines whether the second capacitance sensor 22 is turned on based on information from the control board 23 (S2). That is, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not there is a user operation on both sides 13c of the concave portion 13a. If the door controller 80 determines that the second capacitance sensor 22 is not turned on (S2: NO), the process proceeds to step S1.

When the door control unit 80 determines that there is a user operation on both sides 13c and the like and that the second capacitance sensor 22 is turned on (S2: YES), the door control unit 80 transmits a stop signal (S3). After that, the door control unit 80 monitors the driving state of the door driving unit 70, for example, and determines whether the slide door 2 is stopped (S4).

If the door control unit 80 determines that the sliding door 2 is not stopped (S4: NO), the door driving unit 70 opens or closes the sliding door 2 based on the stop signal transmitted in step S3. The closing operation is stopped (S5). After that, the process moves to step S1.

On the other hand, when the door control unit 80 determines that the slide door 2 is stopped (S4: YES), the input waiting state of the first capacitance sensor 21 is entered (S6). Next, the door controller 80 determines whether the first capacitance sensor 21 is off based on information from the control board 23 (S7). That is, the door control unit 80 determines whether or not there is a user operation within the recess 13a.

If the door control unit 80 determines that the detection result of the first capacitance sensor 21 is off (S7: YES), the process proceeds to step S1. On the other hand, when the door control unit 80 determines that there is a user operation on the concave portion 13a and the detection result of the first capacitance sensor 21 is not off (S7: NO), the door control unit 80, based on the information from the control board 23, , whether or not there is a swipe operation to trace the bottom surface 13b of the recess 13a (S8).

When the door control unit 80 determines that there is no swipe operation (S8: NO), the process proceeds to step S1. On the other hand, when the door control unit 80 determines that there is a swipe operation (S8: YES), it transmits an open signal or a close signal according to the swipe direction (S9). After that, the door drive unit 70 opens or closes the slide door 2 based on the open signal or the close signal (S10). After that, the processing shown in FIG. 3 ends.

In this manner, according to the vehicle door opening/closing device 1 according to the first embodiment, the first capacitance sensor 21 for detecting a swipe operation and the first capacitance sensor 21 are provided at positions different from the first capacitance sensor 21 so as to detect the user. and a second capacitance sensor 22 for detecting an operation, and when the first capacitance sensor 21 detects a swipe operation and the second capacitance sensor 22 detects a user operation, the door is opened. Execute control to open or close. For this reason, the door is not opened or closed unless the user performs a specific operation that causes both the first and second capacitance sensors 21 and 22 provided at different positions to react. It is possible to reduce the possibility of malfunction of the door when it is touched.

Further, when the user's operation is detected by the second capacitance sensor 22 while the slide door 2 is in the opening/closing operation, the operation of the slide door 2 is stopped. Only the second electrostatic capacitance sensor 22 needs to be operated to react, and the operation of the slide door 2 can be easily stopped when, for example, the opening and closing of the slide door 2 is to be stopped urgently.

Further, since the first capacitance sensor 21 is provided so as to be able to detect a swipe operation of tracing the bottom surface 13b of the concave portion 13a of the operating handle 12, the user moves the bottom surface 13b of the concave portion 13a in order to open and close the sliding door 2. It is possible to further reduce the possibility of malfunction of the door when the user unintentionally touches the surface of the handle.

In addition, since the second capacitance sensor 22 can respond to a swipe operation that traces the bottom surface 13b, the user can open and close the slide door 2 with one operation of tracing the bottom surface 13b. Furthermore, since the second capacitance sensors 22 are provided on both sides 13c of the recess 13a protruding from the bottom surface 13b of the recess 13a, for example, when the user puts his or her finger into the back side of the operating handle 12, Even if the first electrostatic capacitance sensor 21 reacts, the second electrostatic capacitance sensor 22 projects from the first electrostatic capacitance sensor 21, so that the second electrostatic capacitance sensor 22 Therefore, the possibility that the sliding door 2 opens and closes due to the reaction of is suppressed. Thereby, for example, it is not necessary to give thickness to the back surface side of the first capacitance sensor 21 so that the first capacitance sensor 21 does not react, and the thickening of the operation handle 12 can be suppressed.

Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle door opening/closing device according to the present invention will be described. The vehicle door opening/closing device according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, but is partially different in configuration from that of the first embodiment. Differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

4A and 4B are configuration diagrams of the handle device 10 according to the second embodiment, in which (a) is a front view showing the appearance of the handle device 10, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of (a). be.

As shown in FIG. 4A, in the second embodiment, the handle device 10 has a configuration in which the surface cover 13 does not have the concave portion 13a. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the second embodiment, the first capacitance sensor 21 contacts the back side of the top surface 15 among the top surface 15, the bottom surface 16, and the vertical surface 17 that constitute the surface cover 13. It is provided at a (or adjacent) position (an example of the first position). Therefore, the first capacitance sensor 21 is provided so as to be able to detect a swipe operation tracing the upper surface 15 . Further, in the second embodiment, the second capacitance sensor 22 is provided at a position (an example of a second position) in contact with (or close to) the back side of the upright surface 17 . Therefore, the second capacitance sensor 22 is provided so as to be able to detect the user's operation on the upright surface 17 .

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, since the first capacitance sensor 21 is provided on the upper surface 15 , even if there is a user's operation on the upright surface 17 , it is provided so as not to detect the user's operation. That is, in the case where the control board 23 detects a user operation when there is a change in capacitance exceeding the detection threshold, even if there is a user operation on the upright surface 17, the capacitance of the first capacitance sensor 21 change does not exceed the detection threshold.

Similarly, since the second capacitance sensor 22 is provided on the upright surface 17 , even if there is a user operation on the upper surface 15 , it is provided so as not to detect the user operation. That is, when the control board 23 detects a user operation when the capacitance change exceeds the detection threshold, the capacitance of the second capacitance sensor 22 does not change even if there is a user operation on the upper surface 15 . Changes are kept below the detection threshold.

In the second embodiment, the door control unit 80 detects a swipe operation by the first capacitance sensor 21 and detects a user operation by the second capacitance sensor 22, as in the first embodiment. If so, the slide door 2 is opened or closed. Therefore, even if the user unintentionally touches the surface cover 13, the sliding door 2 may malfunction unless the user performs a specific operation on the two surfaces of the upper surface 15 and the upright surface 17 at the same time. You can reduce the chances of it happening.

Further, in the second embodiment, the door control unit 80 detects the user's operation by the second capacitance sensor 22 when the slide door 2 is being opened or closed, as in the first embodiment. When this happens, stop this action. Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the sliding door 2 can be stopped urgently and easily.

As described above, according to the vehicle door opening/closing device 1 according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, malfunction of the door when the user unintentionally touches the surface of the operation handle 12 is prevented. can reduce the possibility of In addition, the operation of the sliding door 2 can be easily stopped when the opening/closing of the sliding door 2 is to be stopped urgently.

Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the first capacitance sensor 21 can detect a swipe operation tracing the upper surface 15 of the operation handle 12 and cannot detect a swipe operation on the upright surface 17. The sensor 22 can detect user operations on the upright surface 17 but cannot detect user operations on the upper surface 15 . Therefore, the user does not open or close the slide door 2 unless it is a specific operation of operating different surfaces of the operation handle 12 at the same time in order to cause both the first and second capacitance sensors 21 and 22 to react. , the possibility of malfunction of the sliding door 2 when the user unintentionally touches the surface of the operating handle 12 can be further reduced.

Although the vehicle sliding door apparatus according to the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. If possible, the techniques of the embodiments and other known techniques may be combined.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the handle device 10 provided on the slide door 2 on the right side of the vehicle has been described as an example.

Further, in the first embodiment, the second capacitance sensors 22 are provided on both sides 13c of the recess 13a, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided on only one of the sides 13c. .

In the second embodiment, the first electrostatic capacitance sensor 21 is provided on the upright surface 17 and the second electrostatic capacitance sensor 22 is provided on the upper surface 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not limited to the vertical surface 17 and the upper surface 15 as long as they are provided on different surfaces of the surface 17 . The term "different surfaces" as used herein refers to surfaces whose angles differ by a predetermined value or more in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 4(b).

Reference Signs List 1: vehicle door opening/closing device 2: sliding door 3: door lock device 10: handle device 12: operation handle (handle unit)
12a: grip portion 12b: hollow portion 13: front cover 13a: recessed portion 13b: bottom surface 13c: both sides 14: back cover 15: top surface 16: bottom surface 17: upright surface 21: first capacitance sensor 22: second electrostatic Capacitance sensor 23 : Control board 30 : Antenna 40 : Sensor input unit 50 : Authentication unit 60 : Lock driving unit 70 : Door driving unit 80 : Door control unit K : Portable device

Claims (4)

A handle unit that is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a grip portion that serves as a handle when the door is opened and closed, and a swipe operation that traces the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction excluding the surface on the door side. a handle device having a first capacitance sensor provided and a second capacitance sensor provided at a second position different from the first position and detecting a user operation;
When a swipe operation is detected by the first capacitance sensor of the handle device and a user operation is detected by the second capacitance sensor, control for opening or closing the door is executed. a door control unit;
with
The first position is a position where the first capacitance sensor can detect a swipe operation of tracing the upper surface forming the surface of the handle unit, and the second capacitance sensor cannot detect it. can be,
The second position is a position at which the second electrostatic capacitance sensor can detect a user's operation on an upright surface forming the surface of the handle unit, and the first electrostatic capacitance sensor cannot detect it. A vehicle door opening/closing device characterized by : wherein the door control unit executes control to stop the operation of the door when the second capacitance sensor detects a user operation while the door is being opened or closed. The vehicle door opening/closing device according to claim 1. A handle unit that is arranged on the outer surface of the door and has a grip portion that serves as a handle when the door is opened and closed, and a swipe operation that traces the surface of the handle unit in a predetermined direction excluding the surface on the door side. a handle device having a first capacitance sensor provided and a second capacitance sensor provided at a second position different from the first position and detecting a user operation;
When a swipe operation is detected by the first capacitance sensor of the handle device and a user operation is detected by the second capacitance sensor, control for opening or closing the door is executed. a door control unit;
with
The handle unit has a recess extending in the predetermined direction on the surface,
The first position is a position in contact with or close to the bottom surface of the recess,
The vehicle door opening/closing device, wherein the first capacitance sensor is capable of detecting a swipe operation that traces the bottom surface of the recess of the handle unit. The second position is at least one of both sides of the recess projecting outward of the door from the bottom surface of the recess,
4. The vehicle door opening/closing device according to claim 3, wherein the second capacitance sensor is provided on at least one of the both sides so as to be able to respond to a swipe operation that traces the bottom surface of the recess. .

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