JP2019145293A - Cable sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cable sensor which can be easily curved along a curved shape of a fixing target, while improving the detection sensitivity of a sensor part.SOLUTION: On a cross section along a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of a cable sensor 30, an electrode holding part 32a is disposed from the width direction center of a base part 32b to a cabin outer side. Further, a thickness dimension T2, of the electrode holding part 32a, along the width direction of the base part 32b is greater than a thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b (T2>T1). As a result, the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b can be reduced. Thus, a cross-sectional area of the electrode holding part 32a and the base part 32b, i.e., an electrode holder 32 is made smaller compared with conventional cases so that the rigidity of the entire cable sensor 30 may be lowered. Therefore, the cable sensor 30 can be easily curved along a curved shape of a sensor bracket 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable sensor that is used to detect the proximity or contact of an obstacle and is provided between the interior and exterior of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic opening / closing device provided in a vehicle such as an automobile includes an opening / closing body that opens and closes an opening, an electric motor that drives the opening / closing body, and an operation switch that turns on / off the electric motor. . Then, the electric motor is driven by operating the operation switch, whereby the opening / closing body is driven to open or close. However, the automatic opening / closing device can drive the opening / closing body under conditions other than the operation of the operation switch.

  For example, the automatic opening / closing device is provided with a touch sensor unit that detects that an obstacle is sandwiched between the opening and the opening / closing body. The touch sensor unit is fixed to the opening or the opening / closing body and detects contact of an obstacle. Then, the automatic opening / closing device opens or closes the opening / closing body that is driven to close regardless of the operation of the operation switch based on the input of the detection signal from the touch sensor unit. Stop at the scene.

  An example of a touch sensor unit used in such an automatic opening / closing device is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The touch sensor unit described in Patent Document 1 has a sensor holder formed in a cable shape, and a cable-shaped sensor main body is accommodated in the sensor holder. The sensor holder includes a sensor unit that holds the sensor main body and a base part that is wider than the sensor part, and the base part is fixed to the tailgate with double-sided tape.

JP 2017-204361 A

  However, in the touch sensor unit (cable sensor) described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the touch sensor unit is viewed in a cross section along a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, the sensor unit is centered in the width direction. On the other hand, it has a mirror image symmetrical shape, and the base portion is wider than the sensor portion. Furthermore, the height dimension of the base part and the height dimension of the sensor part are substantially the same height dimension.

  Thereby, while the detection sensitivity of the sensor part can be improved, the cross-sectional area of the base part (sensor holder) is increased, and consequently the rigidity of the entire touch sensor unit is high. Therefore, it is difficult to bend the touch sensor unit according to the complicated curved shape of the tailgate, and the reaction force from the curved touch sensor unit is large. Therefore, it led to an increase in cost, such as requiring a stronger double-sided tape.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cable sensor that can be easily bent in accordance with the curved shape of a fixed object while improving the detection sensitivity of a sensor unit.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a cable sensor used for detecting the proximity or contact of an obstacle and provided between a vehicle interior and a vehicle exterior of a vehicle, the sensor unit being elastically deformable, and the sensor An elastic base portion for fixing the portion to a fixed object, and the sensor portion is located outside the vehicle compartment from the center in the width direction of the elastic base portion in a cross section along a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor. And the thickness dimension of the said sensor part along the width direction of the said elastic base part is larger than the thickness dimension of the said elastic base part.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the height dimension of the sensor portion along the thickness direction of the elastic base portion is larger than the thickness dimension of the elastic base portion in a cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor. It is getting bigger.

  In another aspect of the invention, the sensor unit includes a capacitance sensor connected to a controller.

  In another aspect of the invention, the sensor unit includes a touch sensor having a pair of electrodes connected to a controller.

  According to the present invention, in the cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor, the sensor portion is located outside the vehicle compartment from the center in the width direction of the elastic base portion, and the thickness of the sensor portion along the width direction of the elastic base portion. Since the dimension is larger than the thickness dimension of the elastic base, the thickness dimension of the elastic base can be reduced. Thereby, compared with the former, the cross-sectional area of a sensor part and an elastic base can be made small, and the rigidity of the whole cable sensor can be made low. Therefore, the cable sensor can be easily bent following the curved shape of the fixed object.

  In addition, since the sensor part is located outside the passenger compartment (side near the obstacle) along the width direction of the elastic base, and the thickness dimension of the sensor part is larger than the thickness dimension of the elastic base, the detection of the sensor part It is possible to more reliably prevent an obstacle from being caught while maintaining sufficient sensitivity.

It is a front view which shows the tailgate of a vehicle. It is the side view which looked at the tailgate of Drawing 1 from the side. It is a perspective view which shows a sensor unit. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing explaining the detection area | region of an obstruction. It is sectional drawing explaining the state by which the cable sensor was elastically deformed. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a cable sensor according to a second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a front view showing a tailgate of a vehicle, FIG. 2 is a side view of the tailgate of FIG. 1 viewed from the side, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a sensor unit, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view for explaining an obstacle detection region, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view for explaining a state where the cable sensor is elastically deformed.

  A vehicle 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a so-called hatchback type vehicle, and an opening 11 through which large luggage can be taken in and out is formed on the rear side of the vehicle 10. The opening 11 is formed as a solid gate arrow and a broken line arrow in FIG. 2 by a tailgate 12 as an opening / closing body that rotates around a hinge (not shown) provided on the rear side of the ceiling of the vehicle 10. Opened and closed.

  In addition, a power tailgate device 13 is mounted on the vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment. The power tailgate device 13 includes an actuator (ACT) 13a with a speed reducer that opens and closes the tailgate 12, a controller (ECU) 13b that controls the actuator 13a based on an operation signal of an operation switch (not shown), And a pair of proximity sensor units 20 that detect the proximity of the object BL.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the proximity sensor unit 20 is mounted on each side of the tailgate 12 in the vehicle width direction (left and right sides in the figure). More specifically, the pair of proximity sensor units 20 is provided between the interior of the vehicle 10 and the exterior of the interior of the vehicle 10, and is provided along the curved shape of the door frame on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the tailgate 12. Yes. In other words, the pair of proximity sensor units 20 is in a curved state following the curved shape of the door frame, and is fixed to the tailgate 12 under the curved state.

  Thus, when the obstacle BL approaches the proximity sensor unit 20 when the tailgate 12 is closed, the obstacle BL is detected from the electrode 31 (see FIG. 4) provided on the proximity sensor unit 20. A change (detection signal) in the electrical signal indicating that it is approaching is output to the controller 13b.

  Specifically, when the tailgate 12 is driven to close, a weak electric signal flows from the controller 13b to the electrode 31. When the obstacle BL approaches the electrode 31 in this state, the capacitance between the obstacle BL and the electrode 31 changes, and an electric signal flowing through the electrode 31 rises (becomes larger). The controller 13b detects the change of the electrical signal, that is, the rising edge of the electrical signal as a detection signal, and the controller 13b detects that the obstacle BL has approached the electrode 31. That is, the electrode 31 constitutes a capacitance sensor in the present invention.

  Thereafter, the controller 13b opens (reversely drives) the tailgate 12 that is driven to close regardless of the operation of the operation switch, or stops the tailgate 12 that is driven to close (emergency stop) on the spot. . Thereby, the obstacle BL is prevented from being caught. The electrode 31 is formed of, for example, a conductive wire (wiring code) in which a plurality of copper wires are bundled.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the proximity sensor unit 20 includes a cable sensor 30 that is formed in a long cable shape and can be elastically deformed by applying an external force, and the cable sensor 30 is connected to the tailgate 12. And a sensor bracket 40 for fixing to (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Here, in FIG. 3, in order to make the cable sensor 30 easy to understand, the cable sensor 30 is shaded.

  4 to 6 show a cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor 30. In the cross section of the cable sensor 30, the cable sensor 30 is formed in a substantially L shape. The cable sensor 30 includes an electrode 31 that is electrically connected to a connection terminal (not shown) of the controller 13b, and an electrode holder 32 that holds the electrode 31.

  The electrode holder 32 is formed into a long cable shape by extruding a flexible conductive rubber material (see FIG. 3), and is elastically deformable by applying an external force. 4 to 6, the electrode holder 32 includes an electrode holding portion (sensor portion) 32a in which an electrode 31 is provided inside the height direction end (upper side in the drawing), and an electrode. A base portion (elastic base) 32b that is integrally provided on the base end side in the height direction (lower side in the drawing) of the holding portion 32a and fixes the electrode holding portion 32a to the sensor fixing portion 41 of the sensor bracket 40. I have.

  Here, the base part 32b is extended in the vehicle width direction (refer FIG. 4 thru | or FIG. 6) which connects the vehicle interior side and vehicle interior outer side of the vehicle 10 (refer FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). On the other hand, the electrode holding part 32a is extended in the height direction (refer FIG. 4 thru | or FIG. 6) which is a direction which cross | intersects a vehicle width direction. Accordingly, when viewed in the cross section shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the cable sensor 30 is formed in a substantially L shape. In FIG. 5, a broken line is provided at the boundary between the electrode holding portion 32a and the base portion 32b.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the base portion 32b is formed in a substantially flat plate shape. The thickness dimension along the height direction of the base part 32b is set to T1, and this thickness dimension T1 is a comparison object of the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a and the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a. This is a reference value for identifying 30 shapes. The magnitude relationship between the thickness dimensions T1, T2 and the height dimension T3 will be described in detail later.

  Further, an adhesive member mounting surface 32c is provided on the opposite side (lower side in the figure) of the base portion 32b to the electrode holding portion 32a, and this adhesive member mounting surface 32c is provided as an adhesive member. A double-sided tape 32d is affixed. The double-sided tape 32d fixes the cable sensor 30 to the sensor bracket 40, and is disposed between the electrode holder 32 and the sensor fixing portion 41. In addition, the thickness dimension of the double-sided tape 32d is set to a relatively thick thickness dimension, and specifically, is approximately half the thickness dimension (≈T1 / 2) of the thickness dimension T1 of the base portion 32b.

  By using the thick double-sided tape 32d as described above, the double-sided tape 32d has sufficient flexibility. Thereby, the cable sensor 30 can be bonded to the sensor bracket 40 with a sufficient adhesive force, and the cable sensor 30 can be flexibly followed by following the curved portion CV (see FIG. 3) of the sensor bracket 40. Therefore, both the electrode holder 32 (cable sensor 30) and the sensor fixing portion 41 (sensor bracket 40) are firmly bonded to each other by the double-sided tape 32d.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a pair of adhesive member protection walls 32e are provided on the side (lower side in the drawing) opposite to the side where the electrode holding portion 32a of the base portion 32b is provided. Yes. These adhesive member protection walls 32e are provided over the entire longitudinal direction of the base portion 32b (electrode holder 32), and are disposed on both sides in the width direction of the base portion 32b (both left and right sides in the figure).

  These adhesive member protective walls 32e protrude from the adhesive member mounting surface 32c to a side opposite to the side where the electrode holding portion 32a is located at a predetermined height. Thereby, the side surface of the double-sided tape 32d is covered by the pair of adhesive member protection walls 32e, and the exposure of the double-sided tape 32d to the outside is suppressed. Therefore, it becomes difficult for dust etc. to adhere to the side surface of the double-sided tape 32d, and thus the double-sided tape 32d can be protected, and the appearance of the proximity sensor unit 20 can be improved.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the electrode holding portion 32a protrudes from the base portion 32b on the opposite side (upper side in the drawing) to the tailgate 12 side along the height direction. Moreover, the electrode holding | maintenance part 32a is located in the vehicle interior outer side from the center of the width direction of the said base part 32b with respect to the base part 32b. Specifically, the base end side (lower side in the figure) of the electrode holding part 32a is provided integrally with the end part (left side in the figure) outside the vehicle compartment along the width direction of the base part 32b. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the cross section of the cable sensor 30 is substantially L-shaped.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in order to position the electrode 31 provided on the distal end side of the electrode holding portion 32 a more outside the vehicle compartment, the electrode holding portion 32 a is mounted on the base. It is inclined at a minute angle toward the outside of the passenger compartment with respect to the portion 32b. Thereby, the detection sensitivity of the obstacle BL (see FIG. 5) outside the passenger compartment is improved. Further, the tip portion of the electrode holding portion 32a is formed in a substantially semicircular shape, and the electrode 31 is provided at the center portion thereof. Thereby, the detection sensitivity of the obstacle BL (see FIG. 5) approaching from obliquely above the electrode holding portion 32a is improved.

  Further, in the vicinity of the boundary portion between the electrode holding portion 32a and the base portion 32b and on the vehicle interior side, the electrode holding portion 32a extending in the height direction and the base portion 32b extending in the width direction are smoothly connected to each other. A circular arc portion CA is provided. In this way, by connecting the electrode holding portion 32a and the base portion 32b with the arc portion CA, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks and the like due to stress concentration between the electrode holding portion 32a and the base portion 32b. Thereby, the durability of the electrode holder 32 is improved.

  Next, the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a and the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a will be described with reference to the thickness dimension T1 along the height direction of the base part 32b. In the present embodiment, the thickness dimension T1 of the base portion 32b is substantially the same as the thickness dimension T4 of the sensor bracket 40 (T1≈T4).

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a along the width direction of the base part 32b is larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b (T2> T1).

  Thereby, the base part 32b is made more flexible than the electrode holding part 32a, and the cable sensor 30 can be flexibly followed by following the curved part CV (see FIG. 3) of the sensor bracket 40. Moreover, since the base part 32b can be elastically deformed flexibly, even if the surface of the double-sided tape 32d is wavy, for example, the cable sensor 30 can be fixed to the sensor bracket 40 with sufficient adhesive strength.

  Furthermore, the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a along the thickness direction of the base part 32b is larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b (T3> T1). Further, the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a is larger than the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a (T3> T2).

  As a result, the electrode holding portion 32a is provided with a certain degree of rigidity, and the positional deviation of the electrode 31 provided on the tip end side of the electrode holding portion 32a is eliminated, thereby causing the controller 13b (see FIGS. 1 and 2) to perform noise. The occurrence of troubles such as picking up a sword is suppressed. The detection area of the obstacle BL by the electrode 31 provided on the tip side of the electrode holding portion 32a is generally within the range of the two-dot chain line circle in FIG. However, the detection area (detection sensitivity) of the obstacle BL can be narrowed or widened by adjusting the control gain of the controller 13b (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

  Further, by making the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b and the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a, the tip side of the electrode holding part 32a can be formed from the base part 32b. As far away as possible. Thereby, even if the obstacle BL is in contact with the distal end side of the electrode holding portion 32a and the electrode holding portion 32a is elastically deformed, the reaction force from the electrode holder 32 at that time is reduced by the base portion. It is difficult to be transmitted to 32b. Therefore, the double-sided tape 32d is prevented from peeling off from the sensor fixing portion 41.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, if the obstacle BL comes into contact with the distal end side of the electrode holding portion 32a from a diagonally upper side and a relatively large external force F is applied to the electrode holding portion 32a. Thus, the electrode holding portion 32a is elastically deformed, and the tip end side of the electrode holding portion 32a falls from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior as indicated by the arrow M2. At this time, the base portion 32b tends to move in the direction in which the double-sided tape 32d is peeled off as indicated by the broken line arrow M3. However, since the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding part 32a is made larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b and the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a as described above, the electrode holding part 32a is easy as a whole. It is elastically deformable. Therefore, the double-sided tape 32d is prevented from peeling off from the sensor fixing portion 41.

  Furthermore, since the electrode holding portion 32a can be easily elastically deformed as a whole as described above, it is also effective that the electrode holding portion 32a breaks due to stress concentration (the cable sensor 30 is broken, etc.). Can be suppressed. That is, the cable sensor 30 according to the present embodiment has sufficient resistance against disturbances such as contact with the obstacle BL, and is substantially maintenance-free.

  Moreover, even if there is a predetermined time lag between the detection of the obstacle BL and the reverse drive or emergency stop due to the time required for the arithmetic processing of the controller 13b (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2), During this time lag, the electrode holding portion 32a is easily elastically deformed as a whole. Therefore, the load applied to the obstacle BL is reduced and the obstacle BL is protected.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the sensor bracket (fixed object) 40 is formed in a substantially plate shape having two curved portions CV by injection molding a resin material such as plastic. Specifically, the two curved portions CV are provided following the curved shape of the door frame of the tailgate 12. Thus, the sensor bracket 40 is made of plastic, and the hardness of the sensor bracket 40 is higher than the hardness of the cable sensor 30. In FIG. 3, the tailgate 12 is not shown.

  The sensor bracket 40 includes a sensor fixing part 41 and a vehicle body fixing part 42. The sensor fixing part 41 and the vehicle body fixing part 42 are both formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and the sensor fixing part 41 is arranged outside the vehicle compartment with the sensor bracket 40 fixed to the tailgate 12. It is arranged indoors. Here, the vehicle body fixing portion 42 is provided with three bolt holes 42a through which fixing bolts (not shown) are respectively inserted. As a result, the vehicle body fixing portion 42 is firmly fixed to the tailgate 12 without rattling.

  The sensor fixing part 41 is a part to which the cable sensor 30 is attached, and the surface of the sensor fixing part 41 is higher than the other part of the sensor bracket 40 in order to increase the adhesive strength of the double-sided tape 32d. The surface is smoothed. Therefore, the cable sensor 30 can be fixed to the sensor fixing portion 41 with sufficient strength.

  An inclined wall portion 43 is provided between the sensor fixing portion 41 and the vehicle body fixing portion 42. Thus, a step portion DS having a height dimension H is formed between the sensor fixing portion 41 and the vehicle body fixing portion 42 as shown in FIG. As described above, the cable sensor 30 can be installed in the vicinity of the outer edge portion of the door frame in the tailgate 12 by providing a height difference of the height dimension H between the sensor fixing portion 41 and the vehicle body fixing portion 42. .

  Further, in a state where the cable sensor 30 is attached to the sensor fixing portion 41 with the double-sided tape 32d, the tip side of the electrode holding portion 32a protrudes above the vehicle body fixing portion 42. As a result, the electrode 31 held by the electrode holding portion 32a is disposed above the vehicle body fixing portion 42, and as a result, the detection sensitivity of the obstacle BL is sufficiently ensured.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the inclined wall portion 43 is inclined at an inclination angle α ° (about 30 degrees) with respect to the normal of the sensor fixing portion 41. Specifically, the inclined wall portion 43 has a steep uphill shape from the sensor fixing portion 41 toward the vehicle body fixing portion 42. Thereby, as shown by the arrow M1, the cable sensor 30 can be easily fixed to the sensor fixing portion 41 with the cable sensor 30 facing from above the sensor bracket 40. In other words, the inclined wall portion 43 has a function of positioning (guiding) the cable sensor 30 in a state before fixation indicated by a two-dot chain line at a regular fixing position indicated by a solid line.

  As described above in detail, according to the first embodiment, the electrode holding portion 32a is located outside the vehicle compartment from the center in the width direction of the base portion 32b in the cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor 30. In addition, since the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding part 32a along the width direction of the base part 32b is larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b (T2> T1), the thickness dimension T1 of the base part 32b is reduced. can do.

  Thereby, compared with the former, the cross-sectional area of the electrode holding part 32a and the base part 32b, ie, the electrode holder 32, can be made small, and the rigidity of the cable sensor 30 whole can be made low. Therefore, the cable sensor 30 can be easily bent following the curved shape of the sensor bracket 40.

  In addition, the electrode holding portion 32a is located outside the passenger compartment (side near the obstacle BL) along the width direction of the base portion 32b, and the thickness dimension T2 of the electrode holding portion 32a is larger than the thickness dimension T1 of the base portion 32b. Since (T2> T1), it becomes possible to more reliably prevent the obstacle BL from being caught while sufficiently holding the detection sensitivity of the electrode holding portion 32a.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the height dimension T3 of the electrode holding portion 32a along the thickness direction of the base portion 32b is within the cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor 30. It is larger than the thickness dimension T1 (T3> T1).

  As a result, the electrode holding portion 32a is given a certain degree of rigidity, so that the positional deviation of the electrode 31 provided on the distal end side of the electrode holding portion 32a can be eliminated. As a result, the controller 13b picks up noise and the like. Can be suppressed. Further, the distal end side of the electrode holding portion 32a can be as far as possible from the base portion 32b, and even if the electrode holding portion 32a is elastically deformed by contact with the obstacle BL, the electrode holder at that time The reaction force from 32 can be made difficult to be transmitted to the base portion 32b. Therefore, peeling of the double-sided tape 32d from the sensor fixing portion 41 can be prevented. Furthermore, the electrode holding portion 32a can be easily elastically deformed as a whole, and the electrode holding portion 32a can be effectively suppressed from being broken due to stress concentration (cable sensor 30 being broken or the like). Can do.

  Moreover, according to Embodiment 1, since the electrode holding part 32a is provided with the electrode 31 as a capacitance sensor connected to the controller 13b, the proximity of the obstacle BL does not depend on the contact of the obstacle BL. The tailgate 12 can be driven reversely or stopped in an emergency. Therefore, the obstacle BL can be prevented from being caught without touching the obstacle BL (without applying a load to the obstacle BL).

  Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that portions having the same functions as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the cable sensor of the second embodiment.

  In the cable sensor 30 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a non-contact type proximity sensor having only the electrode 31 is employed. On the other hand, the cable sensor 50 of the second embodiment employs a contact type touch sensor 53 that includes a pair of electrodes 51 and 52 and is elastically deformed by the application of an external force, as shown in FIG. Yes. Only this point is different from the first embodiment, and accordingly, the name of the sensor unit including the sensor bracket 40 is also the touch sensor unit 54.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the touch sensor 53 forming the touch sensor unit 54 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the touch sensor 53 includes a hollow insulating tube 53a made of a flexible insulating rubber material or the like. The insulating tube 53a is elastically deformed by the application of an external force, and a pair of electrodes 51 and 52 are held in a non-contact state on the radially inner side (inside) of the insulating tube 53a. The electrodes 51 and 52 include conductive members 51a and 52a made of flexible conductive rubber or the like, and conductive wires 51b and 52b formed by bundling a plurality of copper wires are provided therein.

  The pair of electrodes 51 and 52 are electrically connected to the controller 13b (see FIGS. 1 and 2), respectively, and a short circuit signal generated when the cable sensor 50 is elastically deformed is input to the controller 13b. Based on the input of the short circuit signal from the touch sensor 53, the controller 13b opens (reversely drives) the tailgate 12 that is driven to close regardless of the operation of the operation switch, or the tailgate 12 that is driven to close. Is stopped on the spot (emergency stop). This prevents the obstacle BL (see FIG. 2) from being caught.

  Specifically, a resistor (not shown) is electrically connected to the ends of the pair of electrodes 51 and 52, so that when the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 are not in contact with each other, the controller 13 b The resistance value of the resistor is input. That is, when the resistance value of the resistor is input, the controller 13b determines that the obstacle BL is not caught and continuously performs the closing drive of the tailgate 12.

  On the other hand, when the obstacle BL comes into contact with the cable sensor 50 and the touch sensor 53 is elastically deformed, the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 are short-circuited with each other. Then, a resistance value (infinite) not passing through a resistor is input to the controller 13b. As a result, the controller 13b detects a change in the resistance value, and executes control to drive the tailgate 12 to open or to stop the tailgate 12 on the spot by using the change in the resistance value as a trigger.

  In the second embodiment formed as described above, it is not possible to detect the proximity of the obstacle BL as compared to the first embodiment described above. However, the action due to the shape and rigidity of the electrode holder 32 is not possible. The effect is the same as in the first embodiment. In addition to this, in the second embodiment, since a short circuit between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 due to the elastic deformation of the electrode holder 32 is detected, resistance to electrical noise that changes the capacitance is increased. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent erroneous detection of external electric noise.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the cable brackets 30 and 50 are fixed to the sensor bracket 40 as the fixed object. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sensor bracket 40 is omitted, and the tail The cable sensors 30 and 50 may be fixed directly to the optimal location of the gate 12. In this case, the tailgate 12 constitutes the fixed object in the present invention.

  In each of the above embodiments, the cable sensors 30 and 50 are fixed to the sensor bracket 40 using the double-sided tape 32d. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cable sensor 30 using an adhesive, for example. , 50 may be fixed to the sensor bracket 40.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the cable sensors 30 and 50 are fixed to the tailgate 12 of the vehicle 10 via the sensor bracket 40 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sunroof of the vehicle or the vehicle It can be applied to a sliding door located on the side of the vehicle, or can be fixed to the vehicle body side of the vehicle.

  In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, installation location, and the like of each component in each of the above embodiments are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited to each of the above embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 11 Opening part 12 Tailgate 13 Power tailgate apparatus 13a Actuator 13b Controller 20 Proximity sensor unit 30 Cable sensor 31 Electrode (electrostatic capacity sensor)
32 Electrode holder 32a Electrode holding part (sensor part)
32b Foundation (elastic base)
32c Adhesive member mounting surface 32d Double-sided tape 32e Adhesive member protective wall 40 Sensor bracket (fixed object)
41 Sensor fixing part 42 Car body fixing part 42a Bolt hole 43 Inclined wall part 50 Cable sensor 51, 52 Electrode 51a, 52a Conductive member 51b, 52b Conductive line 53 Touch sensor 53a Insulating tube 54 Touch sensor unit BL Obstacle CA Arc part CV Curve Part DS Stepped part F External force

Claims (4)

A cable sensor that is used to detect the proximity or contact of an obstacle and is provided between the interior and exterior of the vehicle,
An elastically deformable sensor unit;
An elastic base for fixing the sensor unit to a fixed object;
Have
In the cross section along the direction crossing the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor, the sensor part is located outside the vehicle compartment from the center in the width direction of the elastic base part, and the thickness dimension of the sensor part along the width direction of the elastic base part Is larger than the thickness dimension of the elastic base,
Cable sensor. The cable sensor according to claim 1,
In the cross section along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cable sensor, the height dimension of the sensor part along the thickness direction of the elastic base part is larger than the thickness dimension of the elastic base part.
Cable sensor. The cable sensor according to claim 1 or 2,
The sensor unit includes a capacitance sensor connected to a controller.
Cable sensor. The cable sensor according to claim 1 or 2,
The sensor unit includes a touch sensor having a pair of electrodes connected to a controller.
Cable sensor.

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