Patent Application
20060145518
The present invention relates generally to a control system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a control system for a vehicle roof.
Vehicles with a movable portion of a roof are becoming increasingly popular. To reposition a moveable portion of a roof, a driver activates a control switch. One type of control switch is a push button that must be depressed while the moveable portion of the roof moves from a front to a rear position. To return the moveable portion back to its original position, the driver is required to continuously pull back on the control switch. This control switch configuration lacks intuitive features that easily inform the user as to the manner in which to open or close a portion of the roof. In accordance with the present invention, a control system is provided for closing a roof in an automotive vehicle. In another aspect of the present invention, the control system is coupled to the roof. In still yet another aspect of the present invention, the control system includes a control module and a control device. A further aspect of the present invention employs a user-friendly switch on the control device. In still yet another aspect of the present invention, the user-friendly switch moves in a same direction as a movement of the roof.
The control switch is advantageous since its appearance immediately indicates its purpose and its manner of operation. Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the term “module” or “controller” refers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.
Roof control system 112 controls the movement of front and/or rear moveable portions 120, 130. Roof control system 112 comprises a first control device 210, an optional second control device 220, a control module 200, and an actuation system 250. First and second control devices 210, 220, depicted in greater detail in
When front slide potentiometer 242 is moved along path 246 from a front position 266 to a rear position, front moveable portion 120 correspondingly moves from a front to a rear position. For example,
Wiper 325 samples the voltage of front slide potentiometer 242 after wiper 325 moves across resistor R2. The direction that wiper 325 moves depends upon the voltage across resistor R2. For example, resistors R1 and R4 bias wiper 325 up off the rails when the voltage across resistor R2 is high (e.g. 4.5 volts). A higher voltage across R2 indicates that the operator desires front moveable portion 120 to move from a rear to a front position. In contrast, resistors R1 and R4 bias wiper 325 down off the rails when the voltage across resistor R2 is low (e.g. 0.5 volts). A lower voltage across resistor R2 indicates that the front moveable portion 120 must move from a front to a rear position.
Rear slide potentiometer 244 includes resistor R3, which is connected to resistors R1, R2, R4 and to wiper 335. Wiper 335 samples the voltage across resistor R3. Resistors R1 and R4 bias wiper 335 up off the rails when the voltage across resistor R3 is high (e.g. 4.5 volts). A higher voltage across resistor R3 indicates that the rear moveable portion 130 moves from a rear to a front position. In contrast, R1 and R4 bias wiper 335 down off the rails when the voltage across resistor R3 is low (e.g. 0.5 volts). A lower voltage across resistor R3 indicates that rear moveable portion 130 moves from a front to a rear position.
Controller 360 includes an operator input control 362, a front panel control 364, and a rear panel control 366. Operator input control 362 includes inputs for front and rear slide potentiometers 244, 246 from panel control 300, as previously described. Front panel control 364 has a front panel A and B output connected to front actuator 400 via conductive lines 450, 420 respectively. Front panel control 364 also includes motor power inputs via conductive lines 430, 460 from a front actuator 400. Current and position data of motor 485 is also transmitted over conductive lines 430, 460. Rear panel control 364 has a similar configuration and operation as front panel control 364.
An actuation system 250 comprises front actuator 400 and a rear actuator 470. Front actuator 400 moves front moveable portion 120. Front actuator 400 includes two front panel sensors 435, 465 and motor 485. Front panel sensors 435, 465 indicate to controller 360 the relative position of front moveable portion 120. Front panel sensors 435, 465 may be Hall effect sensors (“Hall sensors”) or other like position indicating sensors. Front panel sensors receive power over conductive line 310. After controller 360 has determined the position of front moveable portion 120 and the operator's desired position for advancing and retracting the front moveable portion 120, controller 360 signals motor 485 via conductive line 430 or conductive line 450 to drive a gear head (not shown), which in turn drives the cabling (not shown) for front moveable portion 120. This causes front moveable portion 120 to move. One skilled in the art will recognize that rear panel control 366 operates in a manner similar to front panel control 364.
While the preferred embodiment of the control system has been disclosed, various alterations can be made which fall within the scope of the present invention. The present invention has numerous applications. For example, the front moveable portion may be completely separate from rear moveable portion. Additionally, the moveable portions may also be configured to move sideways. Roof control system 112 controls the movement of these two separate moveable portions. Moreover, the system to control the moveable portion of the roof may be configured in a variety of ways, as shown by each of the U.S. patents listed below which are incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,404 issued on Jun. 1, 1976 to Bienert, entitled “Sliding Roof Structure with Two-Way Openable Roof Panel”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,430 issued on Nov. 7, 1972 to Knetsch, entitled “Control Device for Electromechanically Operated Closure Panels”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,726 issued on Mar. 5, 1985 to Adams entitled, “Control Apparatus for Pivotal Sliding Roof Panel Assembly”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,691 issued on Dec. 31, 1985, entitled “Safety Device for Electromechanical Opening and Closing Mechanism”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,594 issued on May 11, 1982, entitled “Pivotal and Slidable Auto Roof Cover”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,210 issued Sep. 7, 1993, entitled “Control Apparatus for Opening or Closing Roof of a Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,145 issued Mar. 22, 1988, entitled “Drive Control System for Vehicle Mounted, Electrically Driven Devices”.
It will be appreciated that more or fewer processes may be incorporated into the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the invention and that no particular order is implied by the arrangement of blocks shown and described herein. Skilled artisans appreciate that the method described herein may be embodied in machine-executable instructions or statements (for example, programmable computer software). The instructions can be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that is programmed with the instructions to perform the operations described. Alternatively, the operations may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hard-wired logic for performing the operations, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components. The methods may be provided as a computer program product that may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform the methods. For the purposes of this specification, the terms “machine-readable medium” includes any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one of the methodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but is not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks, and carrier wave signals. Furthermore, it is common in the art to speak of software, in one form or another (e.g., program, procedure, process, application, module, logic, statement etc.), as taking an action or causing a result. Such expressions are merely a shorthand way of stating that the execution of the software by a computer causes the processor of the computer to perform an action or to produce a result.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
