Abstract:
A vehicle includes two power-driven moving openable members, such as windows, on the same side of the vehicle and a single obstruction sensor or detector for both of the openable members. The same obstruction sensor or detector detects an obstruction present on the path of either of the moving openable members, reducing the cost of installing a system that protects against trapping objects or obstructions, such as a hand or fingers.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application claims priority to French Patent Application FR 03 05 890 filed on May 16, 2003.  
         TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a motor vehicle including a sensor for detecting an obstruction in an openable member, such as a vehicle window.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Motor vehicles are commonly fitted with electrically driven window regulators. Standards require that the travel of the window be interrupted if an obstruction is present.  
           [0004]    Obstruction detection solutions have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,854 discloses an optical anti-pinch system in which each window is fitted with a detection system. A disadvantage of this solution is that it is expensive because multiple detection systems are required.  
           [0005]    Therefore, there is a need for a simpler, less expensive obstruction detection system.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention provides a vehicle including two moving openable members on one side of the vehicle and a single obstruction detector for both of the two openable members.  
           [0007]    In one embodiment, the two openable members move in a common opening. In another embodiment, the two openable members are adjacent along a seal. In yet another embodiment, one of the two openable members is a rear openable member, and the seal is integral with the rear openable member.  
           [0008]    In one embodiment, the two openable members are a front openable member and a rear openable member on the same side of the vehicle, and the obstruction detector is in a lower front corner of the front openable member.  
           [0009]    According to one embodiment, the two openable members each move in an opening. In another embodiment, one of the two openable members is a rear openable member, and movement of the rear openable member is non-linear.  
           [0010]    According to one embodiment, a rear view mirror of the vehicle holds the obstruction detector. In another embodiment, a dashboard of the vehicle holds the detector.  
           [0011]    In one embodiment, the two openable members move in their respective openings up to a closing contact line. The obstruction detector includes a light sensor that detects light at the closing contact line and an analysis circuit for analyzing the timing of the light received by the sensor. The analysis circuit compares the distribution of the light received by the light sensor to a reference distribution. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    Other characteristics and advantages of the invention are given in the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, given as an example only and in reference to the sole figure.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a view of a surface of a vehicle in which the invention may be implemented. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]    The present invention provides a vehicle including a single obstruction detector for two moving openable members on the same surface of the vehicle. Thus, the obstruction detector detects an obstruction present in the path of either of the two moving openable members, reducing the installation costs of an anti-pinch system.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a surface of a vehicle in which the present invention may be implemented. The vehicle includes two moving openable members  6  and  7 , such as windows, on the same side of the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a single obstruction sensor  14  for both of the two openable members  6  and  7 . The surface of the vehicle includes both the side of the vehicle and the roof including the two openable members  6  and  7 .  
         [0016]    The openable member  6  may be a front openable member in the direction of forward travel of the vehicle, and the openable member  7  may be a rear openable member. FIG. 1 illustrates lower parts  2  and  3  of the vehicle body beneath the two openable members  6  and  7  in the doors of the vehicle, respectively. The two openable members  6  and  7  are, for example, moved by an electric window winder to clear the openings  4  and  5 , respectively, and move towards the lower parts  2  and  3  of the body. In FIG. 1, the upper edges  8  and  9 , respectively, of the openable members  6  and  7  are illustrated in a position when the two opening member  6  and  7  are completely opened. The movement of the two openable members  6  and  7  may be linear or non-linear. In particular, the movement of the rear openable member  7  may be non-linear, as is the case for convertible vehicles. An upper edge  10  of the openings  4  and  5  is shown as a bold line in FIG. 1. An obstruction  12  is also shown in the vicinity of the upper edge  10 .  
         [0017]    Thus, a single obstruction sensor  14  is designed to detect the presence of an obstruction  12  for a plurality of openable members and in this case for either of the two openable members  6  and  7 . When the obstruction sensor  14  detects an obstruction  12  (such as a hand) as one of the two openable members  6  and  7  is moving upward, operation of the window winder is interrupted or reversed. The obstruction sensor  14  may also be incorporated into an anti-pinch device. The presence of a single obstruction sensor  14  makes the installation of the anti-pinch device less expensive. When at least one of the two openable members  6  and  7  is in a position that clears one of the openings  4  and  5 , the obstruction sensor  14  scans the respective opening  4  and  5  to detect the presence of an obstruction  12 . If the obstruction sensor  14  detects the presence of an obstruction  12  when the control to close one of the two openable members  6  and  7  has been activated, the movement of the respective openable member  6  and  7  is interrupted, or even reversed, to prevent the pinching of the obstruction  12 . The movement of each of the two openable members  6  and  7  and the interruption, or even reversal, of such movement is independent of the other of the two openable members  6  and  7 .  
         [0018]    The lower parts  2  and  3  of the body may both be lower door parts and may or may not be topped by a window frame. Alternatively, if the vehicle does not include rear passenger doors, the lower part  2  is a front door on a vehicle, and the lower part  3  is an immobile rear lower part.  
         [0019]    The two openable members  6  and  7  may move in separate openings  4  and  5 . The openings  4  and  5  are, for example, separated by a center pillar between the doors that forms the frame of the body.  
         [0020]    Preferably, the two openable members  6  and  7  move in a common opening. In this case, the openings  4  and  5  are not separated by a center pillar. When the two openable members  6  and  7  are in the retracted position in the lower parts  2  and  3 , the vehicle includes a single opening that extends along one side of the vehicle. This facilitates the detection of an obstruction  12  by the single obstruction sensor  14  for both of the two openable members  6  and  7 . The two openable members  6  and  7  may, for example, also be adjacent along a seal  11 . When the two openable members  6  and  7  are raised up to the upper edge  10 , the seal  11  ensures the continuity of the seal between the two openable members  6  and  7 . The seal  11  ensures the seal between the two openable members  6  and  7  without interfering with the detection of the obstruction  12  by the obstruction sensor  14 . Preferably, the seal  11  is integral with the rear openable member  7 . This is advantageous when the movement of the rear openable member  7  is non-linear because the seal  11  closes the window channel at the top of the lower part  3  when the rear openable member  7  is retracted or tilted in the lower part  3 .  
         [0021]    In the example in FIG. 1, the obstruction sensor  14  is arranged in the lower front corner of the opening  4 , which corresponds approximately to the fixing point of a rear view mirror. The position and orientation of the obstruction sensor  14  depend on the position and orientation of the front door. The obstruction sensor  14  is positioned in the plane of the two openable members  6  and  7  to facilitate adjustment of the obstruction sensor  14  to detect an obstruction  12  in the opening  4  and  5 . The obstruction sensor  14  can also be arranged in the lower rear corner of the opening  5 ; this is particularly advantageous when the vehicle is a two or three door vehicle because the lower part  3  is immobile, making detection by the obstruction sensor  14  independent of the movement of the front door. Alternatively, the obstruction sensor  14  may be held by the vehicle&#39;s rear view mirror. Thus, the obstruction sensor  14  is offset towards the outside of the vehicle, reducing the blind spots in which the obstruction sensor  14  is unable to detect the presence of an obstruction  12  due to the presence of the center pillar, for example. The obstruction sensor  14  can also be held by the vehicle&#39;s dashboard. This is advantageous because detection by the obstruction sensor  14  is independent of the movement of the lower parts  2  and  3  when the lower parts  2  and  3  are doors.  
         [0022]    If the obstruction sensor  14  is held by the lower part  2 , which is one of the front doors of the vehicle, it may be advantageous for the closing movement of the rear openable member  7  to be disabled when the front door is opened. When the front door is open, the field of vision of the obstruction sensor  14  is diverted and no longer covers the rear openable member  7  or the opening  5  cleared by the rear openable member  7 . The detection of the presence of an obstruction  12  across the opening  5  is therefore not possible, and thus it is preferable to disable the movement of the rear openable member  7  when the front door is open.  
         [0023]    The obstruction sensor  14  may be optical. The obstruction sensor  14  may include a light sensor covering the closing contact lines of the two openable members  6  and  7  and an analysis circuit for the timing analysis of the light received by the obstruction sensor  14 . The analysis circuit is designed to compare the distribution of the light received by the obstruction sensor  14  to a reference distribution. The variation in the light distribution represents the presence of an obstruction  12 .  
         [0024]    Such sensors are known for detecting obstructions. Other sensors for analyzing optical or other information would, of course, come within the scope of this invention. The obstruction sensor  14  monitors an approximately vertical angular area or angular sector  18 . The angular sector  18  covers the part of the opening  4  delimited by the upper edge  10  and a half line extending from the obstruction sensor  14 . In other words, the optical obstruction sensor  14  covers an area adjacent to the upper edge in the plane of the openings  4  and  5  or in the plane of the two openable members  6  and  7  as this is the area in which the pinching must be detected. It is not necessary to detect the presence of an obstruction  12  near the lower edge of the openings  4  and  5 .  
         [0025]    Of course, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described as an example. Obstruction detection applies not only to windows, as explained above, but also to other types of moving openable members, such as motor-driven sunroofs, for example.  
         [0026]    The foregoing description is only exemplary of the principles of the invention. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.