JP6948752B2 - Vehicle sliding door control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control device for a sliding door for a vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to a control device for a sliding door for a vehicle, which can prevent the sliding door from coming into contact with an obstacle on the side when an automatic opening operation is commanded.

Vehicle sliding doors that are automatically opened and closed by remote control have been put into practical use. According to Patent Document 1, even when the rear end of the sliding door when fully opened pops out to the rear of the vehicle, an obstacle existing behind the vehicle is detected by the obstacle detecting means, and the sliding door comes into contact with the obstacle behind. The technology to prevent this is disclosed. Patent Document 2 describes a technique for detecting an obstacle by using a non-contact sensor provided on the end face of the slide door in the opening direction to prevent the slide door from coming into contact with the obstacle when the slide door slides in the opening direction. It is disclosed.

JP-A-2007-277900 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-30008

In the techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when a remote control is instructed to automatically open the sliding door, if there is an obstacle on the side of the sliding door, the sliding door may come into contact with the obstacle. There is. This is because the obstacle detecting means for detecting the obstacle existing behind the vehicle and the non-contact type sensor provided on the opening direction end face of the sliding door cannot detect the obstacle existing on the side of the vehicle. Generally, when the sliding door is opened, the sliding door is once projected to the side of the vehicle and then slid backward by the total thickness of the sliding door and the required gap. Therefore, when the sliding door is in the open operation, the sliding door is already in a state of protruding toward the side of the vehicle, and contact with obstacles on the side cannot be avoided.

In particular, in recent years, there are some vehicles that can unlock and open the sliding door by reservation (hereinafter, simply referred to as reservation open) by the smart entry system. Reservation opening is a function that automatically unlocks and opens a preset sliding door when a user holding a smart key approaches a predetermined range of the vehicle. In a vehicle with such a function, when a reservation is made to open the sliding door on the passenger seat side, the sliding door on the passenger seat side is automatically opened when the user approaches the vehicle side on the driver's seat side. It will be operated. At that time, even if there is an obstacle on the side of the sliding door on the passenger seat side, the user on the driver's seat side cannot visually confirm the obstacle, and the sliding door on the passenger seat side comes into contact with the obstacle. There is a risk of I intended to set the sliding door on the driver's side as the door to be reserved and opened, but if I mistakenly set the sliding door on the passenger's side as the door to be reserved and opened, the sliding door on the passenger's side is also set to the side. There is a risk of contact with obstacles.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of the purposes thereof is for a vehicle capable of preventing contact with an obstacle on the side when the sliding door is instructed to open automatically. The purpose is to provide a control device for a sliding door.

The vehicle sliding door control device according to one aspect of the present invention is
A sliding door that is installed on the side of the vehicle and opens and closes by sliding in the front-rear direction,
A drive mechanism that automatically opens and closes the sliding door in response to an opening / closing operation command,
An obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle on the side of the sliding door in a fully closed position,
When the obstacle detecting means detects an obstacle after receiving the opening operation command, the door control unit controls the drive mechanism so as not to open the sliding door.

Before opening the sliding door, the obstacle detecting means detects the presence or absence of obstacles on the side of the sliding door, and when an obstacle is detected, the sliding door is not opened under the control of the door control unit. Can be. Therefore, when the sliding door is to be automatically opened, even if there is an obstacle on the side of the sliding door, the sliding door does not come into contact with the obstacle.

It is a schematic side view of the vehicle provided with the control device of the sliding door for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of the vehicle provided with the control device of the sliding door for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation procedure of the control device of the sliding door for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the vehicle sliding door control device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper part of the vehicle is shown as UP, the lower part is shown as LWR, the front part is shown as FR, the rear part is shown as RR, the left side is shown as LH, and the right side is shown as RH. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and is indicated by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

<Embodiment 1>
≪Overall composition≫
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle slide door control device according to the embodiment includes an automatically openable / closable slide door 110 provided in the vehicle 100 and a drive mechanism 120 thereof. One of the features of this control device is the obstacle detecting means 130 that detects an obstacle on the side of the sliding door 110 in the fully closed position, and the obstacle detecting means 130 that detects an obstacle after receiving a command to open the door. A door control unit 140 that controls a drive mechanism 120 so as not to open the slide door 110 when detected is provided. The details of each part will be described below.

≪Sliding door≫
The slide door 110 opens and closes an opening provided on the side surface of the vehicle by sliding the side of the vehicle 100 back and forth. Such a slide door 110 is slidably supported by slide rails 112 provided above and below the opening and on the side surface of the vehicle behind the slide door 110 in the fully closed position, and is supported by a drive mechanism 120 described later. It is configured to be automatically openable and closable. In general, many sliding doors 110 open and close openings for getting on and off the rear seats, but the front seat doors are abolished, and openings for getting on and off the rear seats and openings for getting on and off the front seats. And may be integrated to open and close the integrated opening. When these sliding doors 110 are opened from the fully closed state (see the solid line in FIG. 2), they project to the side of the vehicle 100 by approximately the thickness of the sliding door 110 and the length corresponding to the required gap. In the state, it is moved along the side surface of the vehicle 100. The fully open state of the slide door 110 is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The sliding door 110 can be opened and closed manually, and as described above, it can be opened and closed automatically.

The automatic opening and closing can be performed by the inner switch 114 provided on the inner side surface of the vehicle or the outer switch 116 provided on the outer surface of the vehicle, or by wirelessly transmitting the opening / closing command by the wireless remote controller 150 (FIG. 1). In either case, the opening / closing command from each of the switches 114, 116 or the wireless remote controller 150 is sent to the door control unit 140, which will be described later, and the sliding door 110 is opened / closed under the control of the door control unit 140.

Further, in this example, the sliding door 110 is used so that the reservation can be opened. That is, when the user holding the smart key 152 (FIG. 1) approaches the vehicle 100 within a predetermined range, the preset slide door 110 can be automatically unlocked and opened. In this case, the door control unit 140 is instructed to open the slide door 110, triggered by the user having the smart key 152 approaching the vehicle 100 within a range in which the vehicle 100 and the smart key 152 can communicate with each other.

Although not shown, the sliding door 110 is also provided with a door lock for locking the door 110 and a door lock motor for locking / unlocking the door lock. The door lock motor is also controlled by the door control unit 140, which will be described later.

≪Drive mechanism≫
A drive mechanism 120 is used to open and close the slide door 110. The drive mechanism 120 is a mechanism for enabling automatic opening and closing of the slide door 110, and includes an actuator 122 that is a drive source of the slide door 110 and a power transmission mechanism 124 that transmits the power thereof to the slide door 110.

As a specific example of the actuator 122, a motor 122M that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions can be preferably used. The operation of the motor 122M is controlled by the door control unit 140, which will be described later.

The power transmission mechanism 124 may have a configuration in which the driving power of the actuator 122 can be transmitted as a sliding operation of the slide door 110, and a known power transmission mechanism 124 can be used. Although not shown, for example, a speed reducer connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 122M, a drive pulley rotated in synchronization with the speed reducer, a front pulley and a rear pulley interlocked with the drive pulley, a drive pulley and a front / rear pulley. Examples thereof include a power transmission mechanism 124 including an endless wire straddled over the wire and a bracket connecting the endless wire and the slide door 110. The front and rear pulleys are arranged apart from each other in the front and rear of the vehicle by a length substantially corresponding to the slide stroke of the slide door 110. The endless wire is connected to the inner panel of the slide door 110 via a bracket, and the endless wire is driven by rotating the drive pulley and the front and rear pulleys by driving the motor 122M, and slides in conjunction with the traveling. Slide the door 110. The state in which the slide door 110 is moved to the front pulley side is the fully closed state, and the state in which the slide door 110 is moved to the rear pulley side is the fully open state.

≪Obstacle detection means≫
The obstacle detecting means 130 detects an obstacle on the side of the sliding door 110 in the fully closed position (FIGS. 1 and 2). The sliding door 110 is first projected to the side of the vehicle and then moved rearward along the front-rear direction of the vehicle in response to a command to open the vehicle. Therefore, if the obstacle detecting means 130 capable of detecting an obstacle on the side of the sliding door 110 at least in the fully closed position is used and the operation of the sliding door 110 is appropriately controlled by the door control unit described later, the sliding door 110 will be on the side. It is possible to avoid contact with one of the obstacles.

The obstacle detecting means 130 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect an obstacle, and specific examples thereof include a radar (for example, a millimeter wave radar), a laser, and a camera. In this example, the ultrasonic sensor 130S is used as the obstacle detecting means 130. An ultrasonic sensor 130S has a transmitter that emits ultrasonic waves of a predetermined output and a receiver that receives the transmitted ultrasonic waves. When there is an obstacle in the detection area of the ultrasonic sensor 130S, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitter is reflected by the obstacle, and the reflected wave is received by the receiver. The distance from the ultrasonic sensor 130S to an obstacle can be obtained from the attenuation rate of the reflected wave with respect to the transmitted ultrasonic wave.

It is preferable that the obstacle detecting means 130 is installed at a position where the side of the sliding door 110 in the fully closed position as wide as possible can be set as the detection area. In particular, it is preferable to set the side of the sliding door 110 in a range lower than the lower edge of the window frame as the detection region. This is because this range becomes a blind spot from the side opposite to the vehicle 100, and it is difficult to visually recognize the obstacle. In this example, an ultrasonic sensor 130S is provided from the tip of each door mirror 160 toward the rear side. The area surrounded by the broken line and the side surface of the vehicle 100 in FIG. 2 is an obstacle detection area of the ultrasonic sensor 130S. According to this configuration, obstacles can be detected over a wide range including the rear end of the vehicle immediately after the door mirror 160 as well as the side of the sliding door 110 in the fully closed position. The boundary distance of the detection region in the vehicle width direction may be set so as to cover, for example, a range of about 1.0 to 2.0 m from the side surface of the vehicle 100 to the outside.

≪Door control unit≫
The door control unit 140 controls the opening and closing of the sliding door 110 according to the detection information of the obstacle detecting means 130. Specifically, the door control unit 140 has a determination unit 142 that determines the presence or absence of an obstacle on the side of the slide door 110 in the fully closed position according to the detection information of the obstacle detection means 130, and the determination unit 142 that determines the presence or absence of an obstacle. It has an actuator control unit 144 that does not open the slide door 110 when it is determined that there is an object, and a lock control unit (not shown) that controls the door lock motor described above. As described above, since the ultrasonic sensor 130S can determine the distance to the obstacle, the determination unit 142 has the obstacle within the movement locus of the slide door 110 in a wide range including the rear end of the vehicle from immediately after the door mirror. If there is, it can be determined that there is an obstacle on the side of the sliding door 110 in the fully closed position. When the determination unit 142 determines that there is an obstacle, the lock control unit keeps the door lock locked by not supplying power to the door lock motor, and the actuator control unit 144 supplies power to the motor 122M. By not performing the above, the opening operation of the sliding door 110 is invalidated. On the contrary, when the determination unit 142 determines that there is no obstacle, the lock control unit operates the door lock motor to unlock the door lock, and the actuator control unit 144 drives the motor 122M to drive the slide door 110. To open the door. However, the unlocking of the door lock and the opening operation of the sliding door 110 may be started after a certain period of time has elapsed from the command of the opening operation. An ECU (Electronic Control Unit) can be used for the door control unit 140.

≪Operation procedure≫
The operation procedure of the control device for the vehicle slide door 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each part of the vehicle 100 refers to FIG. 1 or FIG.

(1) In step S1, a command for automatically opening the slide door 110 is issued. This command is either an operation command from the inner switch 114 or the outer switch 116, an operation command from the wireless remote controller 150, or an operation command when a user holding the smart key 152 approaches a predetermined range of the vehicle 100. There may be.

(2) In step S2, it is determined whether or not there is an obstacle on the side of the slide door 110 in the fully closed state. This determination is made by the determination unit 142 of the door control unit 140. The ultrasonic sensor 130S has an obstacle detection region in a wide range including the rear end of the vehicle immediately after the door mirror 160. As described above, since the ultrasonic sensor 130S can also detect the distance to an obstacle, if the movement locus of the slide door 110 from the fully closed position to the fully open position is set in advance, the slide door is included in the detection area. When there is an obstacle in the movement locus of 110, it can be determined that there is an obstacle on the side of the slide door 110 in the fully closed position.

(3) If it is determined in step 2 that there is an obstacle, the slide door 110 is not opened in step 3. That is, the actuator control unit 144 of the door control unit 140 invalidates the opening operation of the slide door 110 and maintains the fully closed state of the slide door 110 by not supplying the driving power to the motor 122M.

(4) On the other hand, if it is determined in step 2 that there is no obstacle, the actuator control unit 144 supplies the driving power to the motor 122M, and in step 4, the slide door 110 is opened.

≪Effect of action≫
According to the above-mentioned control device for the sliding door 110 for a vehicle, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) With the slide door 110 closed, the presence or absence of an obstacle on the side of the slide door 110 is detected, and when an obstacle is detected, the slide door 110 is not opened under the control of the door control unit 140. Can be done. Therefore, when the slide door 110 is to be automatically opened, even if there is an obstacle on the side of the slide door 110, it is possible to prevent the slide door 110 from coming into contact with the obstacle. In particular, in a vehicle 100 capable of reservation opening, when the slide door 110 is automatically opened by reservation opening, it is effective in preventing the slide door 110 from coming into contact with an obstacle existing on the side thereof. be.

(2) Obstacles to be detected include stationary objects such as poles and wall surfaces located on the side of the vehicle, non-vehicle objects such as animals and people, and fuel lid 170 (FIG. 1) provided on the side surface of the vehicle 100. Is done. Therefore, when the fuel lid 170 located on the movement locus of the slide door 110 is in the open state, if the fuel lid 170 is detected as an obstacle, the slide door 110 can be prevented from opening.

(3) If the door lock is unlocked and the sliding door 110 is opened after a certain period of time has passed after the opening operation command is given, time for detecting an obstacle can be secured and the sliding door can be detected. It is also possible to cancel the command for opening the 110 operation.

≪Modification example≫
(1) When an obstacle is detected on the side of the slide door 110 and the slide door 110 is not opened, the user may be notified to that effect. For example, lighting a hazard or sounding a notification sound. As a result, it is possible to prevent the sliding door 110 from being mistaken for a failure of the control device.

(2) In the above embodiment, the configuration for controlling the operation of the slide door 110 when the open operation is commanded from the fully closed state has been described, but the door control unit 140 is also described when the closed operation is commanded from the open state. It is possible to prevent the closing operation from being performed. When the slide door 110 is in an open state including a fully open state, the slide door 110 does not further protrude to the side of the vehicle 100 in the process of shifting from that state to the fully closed state, but in a state where there is an obstacle. This is because when the closing operation is performed, the surface of the slide door 110 may be rubbed against an obstacle, or the end surface of the slide door 110 in the closing direction may come into contact with the obstacle.

(3) In the case of a vehicle equipped with a camera capable of acquiring an image of the side of the vehicle such as an around view monitor, it is expected that this camera will be used as the obstacle detecting means 130. For example, when the door mirror 160 is provided with a camera that captures each of the left and right sides of the vehicle 100 in the field of view, the camera may be used as the obstacle detecting means 130. More specifically, by processing the image of the camera, it is possible to detect the presence of an obstacle by utilizing the fact that the hue and brightness are locally different and there is an area where the contour can be extracted from the image. Can be mentioned. In addition, an image of the side of the vehicle 100 when parked is acquired, and the image when parked is compared with the image immediately before the slide door 110 is automatically opened at the next boarding. You may detect an object. In particular, if the obstacle is a moving object such as an animal, a large number of still images may be acquired by the camera within a unit time, and the presence of the moving object may be detected from the change of each image. With these configurations, it is not necessary to provide the door mirror 160 with an ultrasonic sensor 130S that detects an obstacle on the side of the sliding door 110.

(4) Furthermore, if each corner of the vehicle 100 is equipped with a corner sensor (ultrasonic sensor, radar sensor, etc.) for notifying that the vehicle is approaching an obstacle when parking, the vehicle 100 When the vehicle passes by the side of the obstacle, the corner sensor can measure the distance and position to the obstacle (adjacent vehicle, side wall, etc.) adjacent to the parked vehicle and store it in the memory. .. Therefore, even if the automatic opening operation of the slide door 110 is commanded at the next boarding, the determination unit 142 determines whether or not the position of the side obstacle read from the memory interferes with the movement locus of the slide door 110. If it is determined that the door interferes, the sliding door 110 can be prevented from being opened by the control of the door control unit 140.

100 Vehicle 110 Slide door 112 Slide rail 114 Inner switch 116 Outer switch 120 Drive mechanism 122 Actuator 122M Motor 124 Power transmission mechanism 130 Obstacle detection means 130S Ultrasonic sensor 140 Door control unit 142 Judgment unit 144 Actuator control unit 150 Wireless remote control 152 Smart Key 160 Door Mirror 170 Fuel Lid

Claims (1)

A slide door on the driver's side and a slide door on the passenger's seat that are provided on the side of the vehicle and can be opened and closed by sliding in the front-rear direction.
A drive mechanism that automatically opens and closes at least one of the sliding door on the driver's seat side and the sliding door on the passenger's seat side in response to an opening / closing operation command.
Obstacle detecting means for detecting obstacles on the side of the sliding door on the driver's seat side and the sliding door on the passenger's seat side in the fully closed position, and
When the obstacle detecting means detects an obstacle after receiving the opening operation command, the drive mechanism is operated so as not to open at least one of the sliding door on the driver's seat side and the sliding door on the passenger's seat side. and a control for the door control unit,
The opening operation command is triggered by the user having the smart key approaching the vehicle within a range in which the vehicle and the smart key can communicate with each other, and the slide door on the driver's seat side and the slide on the passenger's seat side. It is a command to automatically unlock and open at least one of the doors.
When the user holding the smart key approaches the vehicle within a range in which the vehicle and the smart key can communicate with each other, the drive mechanism is instructed to open the operation, and the sliding door on the driver's seat side and the above. It has a reserved open function that automatically unlocks the sliding door reserved in advance by the user among the sliding doors on the passenger seat side to open the sliding door.
When the reservation open function is used to make a reservation to open the sliding door on the passenger seat side, when the user having the smart key approaches the vehicle within a range in which the vehicle and the smart key can communicate with each other, the assistant The sliding door on the seat side is automatically opened,
When the reservation open function is used to make a reservation to open the sliding door on the driver's seat side, when the user having the smart key approaches the vehicle within a range in which the vehicle and the smart key can communicate with each other, the operation is performed. The sliding door on the seat side is automatically opened,
When the user holding the smart key approaches the vehicle within a range in which the vehicle and the smart key can communicate with each other, the door control unit is among the slide door on the driver's seat side and the slide door on the passenger's seat side. When the obstacle detecting means detects an obstacle on the slide door side reserved for the user to open the door by the reserved open function in advance, the slide door reserved for the open operation is not opened. A control device for a sliding door for a vehicle that controls the drive mechanism.

Images