Abstract:
A touch sensitive access system for fitment to a vehicle and arranged such that, when touched, the means signals unlatching of a door latch of a door of said vehicle, wherein the access system is programmed only to signal unlatching once a vehicle user has ceased touching the access means.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to Great Britain patent application numbers GB 01 14797.4 filed Jun. 16, 2001 and GB 01 21900.5 filed Sep. 11, 2001.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a vehicle access means and engagement means.  
           [0003]    More particularly, the present invention relates to vehicle access means and engagement means that replace conventional exterior door handles mounted on vehicle doors.  
           [0004]    A number of problems are associated with the use of conventional exterior door handles. Because of the necessary positioning of exterior door handles in an ergonomic position close to the upper edge of the door panel (where it easily falls to hand) and remote from the door hinge in the case of conventional vehicle passenger doors, the styling freedom of the vehicle is restricted. Additionally, positioning is restricted due to the desire for an easy connection to the vehicle latch mechanism which is usually mounted on the rear shut face of a passenger door.  
           [0005]    Another problem with conventional handles is associated with the punching out of a hole in the outer door panel. The hole is needed to accommodate the handle, but may also crease the exterior panel thus compromising its aesthetics. Such holes may also compromise the security of the vehicle. The fact that it is difficult to fit a handle flush with the exterior door panel results in the use of handles that generate wind noise and aerodynamic drag whilst the vehicle is in motion. The use of conventional door handles also adds weight to the vehicle and adds to the number of mechanical parts.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention seeks to overcome, or at least mitigate, the problems of the prior art.  
           [0007]    One aspect of the present invention is a touch sensitive access means fitted to a vehicle and arranged in use, when touched, to unlatch a door or said vehicle and/or facilitate the deployment of an engagement means to be engaged by a vehicle user to assist in the opening of the vehicle door.  
           [0008]    Another aspect of the present invention is a foot operated access means fitted to a vehicle arranged in use, when actuated, to unlatch a vehicle door and/or facilitate the deployment of an engagement means to be engaged by a vehicle user to assist in operating the vehicle door.  
           [0009]    Another third aspect of the present invention is access means for a vehicle comprising an exterior mirror, the mirror being arranged, in use, such that engagement thereof by a vehicle user unlatches a vehicle door and/or facilitates deployment of an engagement means to be engaged by a vehicle user to assist in opening the door.  
           [0010]    Another aspect of the present invention is engagement means for engagement by a vehicle user to assist in the opening of a vehicle door, the engagement means being a handle, the handle being deployed from a retracted position, in use, in response to a signal from vehicle entry means. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle including access means according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view through a vehicle door having access means according to a second embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1C is a cutaway side elevational view through a door having access means according to a third embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle incorporating access means according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle including access means according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle including engagement means according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle including engagement means according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the interrelationship and function of an access control system incorporating access means and engagement means according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0020]    Conventional vehicle door handles essentially serve two functions: firstly, they act as access means to unlatch the associated door and secondly as engagement means by providing a surface that a vehicle user may engage in order to open the door once unlatched. Thus, the terms “access means” and “engagement means” as used below should be understood as means whose primary function is access and engagement respectively, although the means may also perform a secondary function.  
         [0021]    Referring to FIG. 1A there is shown a perspective view of a passenger door  14  for a vehicle  12  such as a passenger car. In place of a conventional handle that both unlatches the vehicle and provides a surface by which a vehicle user may engage the door to open it, there is provided access means that is touch sensitive which, in this embodiment, is a touch pad  16 . The touch pad  16  is in turn connected to a controller  26  (see FIG. 6) and communicates therewith as described below.  
         [0022]    Although in this embodiment, the touch pad is shown in the position of a conventional door handle, in other embodiments the touch pad  16  or other touch-sensitive means may be positioned elsewhere on the vehicle such as the passenger door window, the wing mirrors or on another vehicle panel. The touch pad  16  may be pressure sensitive or detect contact due to a change in its conductivity, but in either case there should be substantially no deflection of the surface being touched.  
         [0023]    Turning to FIG. 1B, a strain gauge  19   a  is secured to the inner face of the outer skin  15  of door  14  resulting in the outer skin  15  being, in effect, the touch sensitive means. The strain gauge is in turn connected to the controller  26  and communicates therewith as described below. It can be seen that the strain gauge  19   a  is located in approximately the same position as touch pad  16  of the first embodiment, but because it is located on the inner face of the door skin, the door skin is uninterrupted, and does not require any apertures to be provided therein.  
         [0024]    In use, when a user contacts the appropriate region of the door skin and exerts a pressure P. The (albeit small) deformation of the skin  15  causes the conductivity of the strain gauge  19   a  to change.  
         [0025]    An alternative strain gauge arrangement is shown in FIG. 1C. In this embodiment, the gauge  19   b  is secured in a snaking arrangement to the inner face of the door skin  15 . Thus, in this embodiment, the user may touch substantially anywhere on the door skin for detection by the strain gauge to occur.  
         [0026]    In other embodiments strain gauges could alternatively be arranged on the door hinge  17 , latch  23 , striker  21  or door seal (not shown) so as to detect pressure applied to the door  14 . Furthermore, force transducers may be used in place of the strain gauge. Additionally or alternatively, a strain gauge may be arranged on the window seal (not shown) to detect movement of the window glass  24  relative to the rest of the door  14 , or a transparent touch sensitive sheet of the type used on computer monitors and the like could be applied to the window to enable the user to gain entry by pressing on the window glass  24 .  
         [0027]    Turning to FIG. 2 there is shown a foot operated access means such as a foot operated pedal  18  mounted to the sill area  19  of a vehicle. In this embodiment, actuation of the pedal  18  in the direction A signals the controller as described in more detail below. Alternatively, the pedal  18  may be pressure sensitive, so that no actual deflection occurs. In a preferred embodiment, the pedal  18  is only deployed from a stowed position in the sill  19  when actuation thereof is required, thus preventing the fouling of the pedal  18  on foreign objects when the vehicle is in motion. One advantage of this arrangement is that the pedal  18  may be actuated when the user has no free hands.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the invention in which a vehicle wing mirror  20  is used in the place of the conventional door handle as access means. In one class of embodiment, the mirror  20  may be simply be provided with a switch or touch-sensitive means similar to the first embodiment in order to signal the controller. Alternatively, where a vehicle is provided with powered mirrors, physical movement of the mirror  20  in a direction B may be converted into a signal that is sent to the controller to initiate release as described in more detail below.  
         [0029]    Turning to FIG. 4, there is illustrated an engagement means according to a sixth embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the engagement means comprises a deployable handle  22  that in normal circumstances is retracted within the vehicle door. However, upon a signal from a vehicle controller, the handle  22  is deployed from the “waistline” (the sill portion where the door panel meets the window)  23  of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the handle  22  is merely provided as a convenient surface that a vehicle user may engage to open the door  14 . However, in variant form, the handle  22  may also be operably connected to the vehicle latch such that engagement thereof causes the door to become unlatched. The interaction of the handle  22  and the controller is described in more detail below.  
         [0030]    The engagement means according to a seventh embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment the engagement means is provided by the window sill  23  of the door  14 . Clearly, for reasons of security, the door window  24  will usually be left in a closed position when the vehicle is left unattended. However, when a signal is received from the controller as described in more detail below, this causes the window regulator ( 25 , FIG. 6) to lower the window glass  24  and thus enable a vehicle user to grasp the sill or top of the window glass and open the door.  
         [0031]    Turning now to FIG. 6 in which an overall access control system incorporating various aspects of the present invention is shown in schematic form. It can be seen that at the heart of the system is the controller  26 . The controller  26  is preferably in the form of a microprocessor and may be a stand-alone controller for access control or may be integrated into an overall controller for a number of vehicle functions.  
         [0032]    As shown in FIG. 6, an authorization device  30  in the form of a transponder is carried by a vehicle user. When the user walks into range of a scanner  28  associated with the vehicle, the scanner  28  interrogates the authorization device  30  using radio frequency or other electromagnetic waves and the like in order to determine whether that particular authorization device  30  permits access to the vehicle  12 . If access is permitted, the scanner  28  signals the controller  26  to unlock electrically operable door lock  32  and in certain classes of embodiment to also unlatch electrically operable door latches  34 .  
         [0033]    In installations where the authorization device  30  causes just the unlocking of the door locks  32 , the user then actuates either touch pad  16 , door skin  15 , window  24  or wing mirror  20  by hand or foot pedal  18  by foot (the various alternative means being illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 6). Actuating the relevant access means signals the controller  26  which in turn signals the unlatching of door latches  34 . The controller  26  preferably also signals the deployment of either handle  22  (if fitted) or the window regulator  25  to drop the window glass  24  so that a surface is available for the user to engage by hand and open the door  14 . In its simplest form, however, specific engagement means may be dispensed with because the force exerted on the door by the door seals (not shown) is generally sufficient to cause the door to open enough when the door is unlatched for a user to engage an edge of the door by hand and open it. In some cases of embodiment the door hinge and/or door check may also exert an outward force that tends to cause the door to open.  
         [0034]    In a preferred embodiment, when a touch pad  16  or strain gauge  19   a ,  19   b  is used as an access means and is mounted on the door  14 , the controller  26  only signals the unlatching of the door once the user ceases to touch the touch pad  16 , door skin or window. This avoids the possibility of the force due to contact between the user&#39;s hand and the touch pad, door skin or window counteracting the seal force and preventing the door opening by a sufficient amount, and also substantially avoids the risk of user discomfort being caused by the door opening against their fingers.  
         [0035]    If the vehicle is fitted with a foot pedal  18 , the signal from the scanner  28  to the controller  26  preferably causes the controller  26  to signal the lowering of the foot pedal  18  from a retracted position in the sill to a deployed position where it may be actuated by the foot of the vehicle user.  
         [0036]    In embodiments where the controller  26  signals the unlatching of the door latch  34  in response to signals from the scanner  28 , the access means may be dispensed with. Similarly, in embodiments where the handle  22  is operably connected to the latch(es)  34 , the access means may be dispensed with.  
         [0037]    Once the vehicle user has entered the vehicle and closed the door, the controller  26  signals the retraction of the pop-up handle  22  and/or of pedal  18  as appropriate, or signals the closure of the window  24 . Optionally, a vehicle motion detector (not shown) may be connected to the controller  26  such that the controller  26  may signal the locking of door locks  32  if the vehicle exceeds a certain predetermined speed such as 5 kilometers per hour, for example.  
         [0038]    To summarize, the access means of FIGS. 1A to  3  may operate separately or in conjunction with the engagement means of FIGS. 4 and 5. Likewise, the engagement means of FIGS. 4 and 5 may operate separately from the access means of FIGS. 1 and 3.  
         [0039]    It should be understood that numerous changes may be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, the system may be adapted for use with other vehicle doors such as sliding doors or rear doors and alternative types of scanner such as sonar, ultrasonic or infra-red type scanners may be used in place of a radio frequency scanner. The invention may be adapted for use with conventional remote keyless entry (RKE) “plip”-type locking devices rather than a passive entry system. Furthermore, touch sensitive means such as strain gauges may be employed as exit means on the inside of doors to permit exit from as well as entry to vehicles. Likewise, the engagement means described above may be deployed from the interior of the vehicle to assist in closing vehicle doors.  
         [0040]    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 examples 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.