Obstacle detection device, in particular a frame for a motorised opening panel of a motor vehicle, and resulting opening panel

The invention relates to a device for the detection of an obstacle (43) in relation to a controlled-movement panel (3), including: deformable tubular means or a flexible tube (31) for the propagation of low-frequency dynamic pressure waves; means for transmitting (40a) and receiving (40b) the low-frequency dynamic pressure waves; and means for processing (9) said dynamic pressure waves, which, upon detection of an obstacle, are designed to allow the panel (3) to be moved in relation to the obstacle (43), the panel being stopped, lowered or re-opened.

The invention relates to a device for detecting an obstacle in relation to a movement-controlled panel and/or for controlling movement of the panel in relation to the obstacle, and notably a chassis for a motorized opening panel, notably for a motor vehicle, provided with an obstacle safety device on closure, and the resulting opening panel.

The invention aims in particular to provide an anti-pinching device for electrically-driven motor vehicle window or chassis but it also relates to an anti-pinching device for opening panel in various fields such as the home with doorways or motorized blinds, for example, but also the general field of transport with the motorized opening panels of public transport vehicles for example.

Devices to prevent the pinching of fingers are known, notably for electrically-driven motor vehicle windows, that comprise a means of detecting an excess of torque or of intensity of the current driving the electric motor on closing the window, or a means of detecting (by Hall effect) a speed variation of the electric motor caused by an obstacle on closure, and that control the re-opening of the window, so avoiding jamming the window on the obstacle, for example a finger of a hand, and wounding it.

Nevertheless, these devices present certain drawbacks.

The force exerted on the obstacle (a finger) is relatively great and can injure the person concerned. Furthermore, the device is dependent on external conditions: ambient temperature, wear, window sliding friction, etc., which can contribute to increasing the force of closure before re-opening. Furthermore, the force can be very great in the shear areas and in the corners, with a major risk of seriously injuring the person.

There is also a system with elastomer cladding housing electric contact units likely to be short-circuited when the cladding is crushed and which thus supply the signal to re-open the window. Nevertheless, the cladding is relatively rigid and difficult to deform and the system is therefore not very sensitive. Furthermore, the cost of manufacturing the system remains high, and is limited in length and in its form.

One object of the invention is to propose a motorized opening panel safety system that can preferably be associated with a seal for this opening panel, that is simple, reliable and economical and not limited in length in relation to the known devices.

Furthermore, the safety devices of capacitive type for motorized opening panels are costly and sensitive to the electromagnetic field of the environment.

Also known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,681 is a sonic displacement tubular sensor, which essentially involves a flexible tube for propagating an ultrasonic signal (from 20 to 500 KHz), arranged at least over a portion of its length on an area likely to be in contact with an obstacle, two sonic transducers fixed to the ends of the flexible tube, and processing means able to determine the modification of the propagation of the ultrasonic signal and therefore the pinching of the flexible tube by the obstacle. Such a sensor detects the deformation of the tube on the obstacle, however small, but does not detect the contact impact of the tube on the obstacle before the deformation of the flexible tube.

Also known, from GB 2 288 014, is a deformable sensor for a motorized vehicle window, comprising an elongate unit in the form, for example, of a flexible tube and able to propagate a radiation of light waves, and to signal the presence of an obstacle on the deformation of the tube modifying the propagation of the radiation. Here again, only the deformation of the tube on the obstacle is detected and not the prior contact of the obstacle on the tube.

The invention aims to remedy these drawbacks and proposes a device for detecting an obstacle in relation to a movement-controlled panel and/or for controlling the movement of the panel in relation to the obstacle, characterized in that it comprises:deformable tubular means or a flexible tube for the propagation of dynamic pressure waves of low frequency, less than 500 Hz, these deformable tubular means or flexible tube also being able to create and propagate a dynamic pressure pulsed wave of very low frequency, less than 100 Hz, emitted in response to the docking impact of the moving panel on the obstacle,means for emitting and receiving said low-frequency dynamic pressure waves, and receiving said very low frequency dynamic pressure pulsed wave, these emitting and receiving means being adapted notably in dynamic pressure impedance to said deformable tubular means or flexible tube,means of processing said dynamic pressure waves and dynamic pressure pulsed wave adapted to:check firstly the correct operation of the detection of an obstacle and of the movement control by the device, determining the detection of the obstacle by the moving panel, docking impact or deformation of said deformable tubular means or flexible tube, and enabling, according to this detection, a suitable control of the movement of the panel in relation to the obstacle, the panel being stopped, lowered or re-opened,these processing means being able to detect, according to a secure procedure, firstly the docking impact of the panel on the obstacle, thus avoiding and anticipating the deformation of said deformable tubular means or flexible tube, then the deformation of the deformable tubular means or flexible tube, at least partially, if the docking impact is not detected.

Naturally, the docking impact is created by the contact of the obstacle against the deformable tubular means or flexible tube according to a movement speed differential of these elements.

The result of this arrangement is that, in relation to the detection of the deformation of the deformable tubular means or the tubular sensor alone, the obstacle detection device according to the invention allows for a doubly-secured obstacle detection, detecting the contact impact and the deformation of the deformable tubular means, the detection of the impact prior to the deformation enabling the device to react more rapidly than to just the deformation of the sensor and avoid the deformation of the latter, which further includes further risks of crushing the obstacle.

Furthermore, a third level of protection can be achieved by deformable tubular means comprising a reserve of compressibility, for example a deformable thickness of the tubular sensor, able to be crushed easily, so that, in the event of failure to detect the impact (slow docking speed) and the detection of deformation on the complete crushing of the deformable tubular means by the obstacle, which corresponds to an absence of any dynamic pressure wave signal transmitted, the device is able to allow a control with a safety compression reserve ensuring the response time until the movement of the panel, and possibly the reversal of the movement to retract it from the obstacle, stops. An additional safety delay is thus assigned to the response time of the kinematics control subsystem by said reserve of compressibility of the deformable tubular means.

The dynamic pressure wave signal can be in the sonic or infrasonic spectrum, but it is advantageously of a frequency less than 250 Hz. Furthermore, the pulsed wave can be in the sonic or infrasonic spectrum and it is advantageously of a frequency between 10 and 100 Hz. Such signals run well, in practice, within the deformable tubular means or flexible tube and up to long lengths of the latter (several tens of meters).

Said emitting and receiving means each advantageously comprise a transducer of small dimensions, a piezoelectric transducer for example, open to the atmosphere through at least one hole through their chamber (front portion) and/or rear portion opposite to their link with the end of the flexible tube.

These emitting and receiving means are advantageously mounted each flexibly and in a seal-tight manner, each in a closed casing or all in one and the same closed casing so as to be insulated from the spurious noises and vibrations, from the humidity and from the dust of the environment.

The transducers are advantageously each integrated in a chamber matched in dynamic pressure impedance (ratio of the pressure of the medium of the signal to the volume flow rate of the medium of the flexible tube) to the signal to be transmitted or to be received and to the flexible tube, and linked to the end of the latter, which chamber amplifies the emission and the transmission of the signal emitted or received respectively, and reduces the influence of the external noise.

The flexible tube can be of variable geometrical section. It is advantageously of cylindrical or almost-cylindrical section, of small outside diameter, 4-6 mm for an inside section diameter of 2-3 mm, and it is very long, several meters. The small section and the long length of the flexible tube necessitate a high dynamic pressure of the signal at low volume flow rate and therefore transducer chambers of large diameter compared to the diameter of the duct of the flexible tube with a shallow depth of front chamber (toward the tube) thus creating the conditions of a pressure amplification adapted to the tube, the chamber preferably being substantially flat. Said at least one hole for opening to the atmosphere is also of small diameter (in relation to the duct of the flexible tube) and long to allow for the reception with minimal loss of the pulsed wave generated by the docking impact of the obstacle, while forming a low-pass filter for the spurious components and equalizing the atmospheric static pressure.

Naturally, the emitting means can be linked to several flexible tubes mounted in series or in parallel with one or more receiving panels forming a feeler preventing the pinching of mobile parts to be secured of one and the same vehicle. Furthermore, said emitting and receiving means can be grouped together in one and the same assembly or casing to which said ends of the flexible tube are linked.

Said dynamic pressure wave signal emitted by the emitting panel can comprise at least one regular alternating component of a single frequency, but preferably it includes at least two components of close frequencies (frequency-modulated signal) thus specifying the signal and its recognition by the receiving means.

Said flexible tube can be obtained by extrusion or possibly molding using synthetic material, elastomer (rubber-based) for example, with the chassis frame seal. This synthetic material, elastomer for example, makes it possible to create a pulsed wave of very low frequency essentially in the sonic spectrum of approximately 10 to 100 Hz and of short duration (10 to 100 ms pulse) in the tube, on the docking impact of the latter with the obstacle. The elastomer material also makes it possible to phonically insulate the inside of the flexible tube from the outside environment and the degree of phonic insulation of the inside of the flexible tube can be adjusted with the thickness of the wall of the tube and the nature of the tube material.

The flexible tube can also include a more rigid internal wall surface, able to better conduct the dynamic pressure wave signal and the dynamic pressure pulsed wave and to amplify the deformation of the tube (in length), and a flexible external wall insulating from the external noise.

The invention can be applied to a chassis for a motorized opening panel comprising an obstacle detection device as defined previously. In this case, the chassis according to the invention can be a chassis for a motorized opening panel, notably for a motor vehicle, comprising a chassis frame and a mobile panel driven relative to said chassis frame by a motor means, for example to close or open the chassis frame, and including a closure safety device able to stop, retract or open the mobile panel immediately an obstacle is detected between the chassis frame and the mobile panel in the driving operation of the mobile panel, in which the closure safety device comprises:deformable tubular means in the form of a flexible tube arranged at least along an area to be secured in relation to a possible obstacle between the chassis frame and the mobile panel, for example along at least a portion of the peripheral edge of the mobile panel or of the peripheral edge of the frame of said chassis, and forming a projection toward said area to be secured,a means of emitting dynamic pressure waves arranged at one end of said flexible tube and able to emit a dynamic pressure wave signal running along said flexible tube,a means of receiving dynamic pressure waves and said dynamic pressure pulsed wave, linked to said flexible tube at another end of the latter and able to detect at least one pressure variation of said wave signal and the pulsed wave, of dynamic pressure transmitted from the emitting means and generated by an obstacle blocking or deforming said flexible tube respectively, and,a device for regulating and controlling the motor means linked to said emitting and receiving means and to the motor means, able to control the operation to stop, retract or open the mobile panel in relation to the chassis frame immediately said impact pulsed wave and/or a said pressure variation in dynamic pressure waves are detected in succession by the receiving means and corresponding to an object in contact with and/or deforming said flexible tube respectively.

Said flexible tube can be arranged facing the frame or along the peripheral edge, on the inside and/or outside of the vehicle, of the mobile panel or of the chassis frame. It is notably made of a synthetic elastomer material (rubber), which, in contact with or on external docking impact with the tube, creates within itself a pulsed wave with sonic or infrasonic spectrum, of very low frequency (less than 100 Hz).

The result of this arrangement is that the contact of an obstacle in the approach maneuver of the mobile panel creates an impact that generates a dynamic pressure pulsed wave, and that, the start of crushing of this obstacle between the chassis frame and the mobile panel creates a deformation of the flexible tube in said area to be secured and modifies the transmission of the signal in the flexible tube. The pressure pulse created by the impact, which is itself overlaid on the dynamic pressure variation, created by the crushing, are detected by the receiving element. The information is immediately transmitted to the device for regulating and controlling the motor means to control the stopping, the retracting or the re-opening of the mobile panel, thus freeing the obstacle inserted between the chassis frame and the mobile panel.

Said mobile panel can be a sliding door window of a motor vehicle or an opening roof of a vehicle or a mobile curtain, operated by a motorized driving device (electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic).

Said mobile element can be a sliding door of a motor vehicle or public transport vehicle, operated by a driving device with electric motor or similar, or a vehicle trunk lid operated by an electrical or hydraulic or pneumatic driving device. It can also be a motorized doorway, a roller blind, etc.

Said flexible tube can be mounted elastically or flexibly linked to the chassis frame or to the mobile panel, thus reducing the transmission of the vibrations of the vehicle likely to disturb the dynamic pressure wave signal. It can be clip-mounted on the rebate of the frame or fitted into a flexible lip of the seal.

Said flexible tube can also be glued, for example using an insulating flexible adhesive tape onto the mobile panel or the chassis frame.

Said flexible tube can even be co-extruded with the profile or seal between the mobile panel and the chassis.

The closure safety device can be provided, as means of checking the correct operation of the detection and the movement control of the processing means of the (abovementioned) device, with a self-checking device checking for the absence of an obstacle on the flexible tube, started up immediately upon the control of the mobile panel or immediately upon the starting up of the vehicle and checking that the transmission of the dynamic pressure wave signal from the emitting panel to the receiving panel is carried out normally and without obstacle before activating the device for regulating and controlling the motor means.

Moreover, as specified above, the contact or docking impact of the obstacle on the flexible tube is able to create in the latter a low-frequency dynamic pressure pulsed wave of high amplitude according to one to two sonic or infrasonic pulses, which signal is detected by the receiving panel and is immediately transmitted to the device for regulating and controlling the motor means to control the retraction or re-opening of the mobile panel.

The flexible tube is advantageously seal-tight and at least one of the emitting or receiving means or the assembly thereof also comprises at least one small hole opening to the atmosphere, which makes it possible to place the flexible tube in atmospheric balance regardless of the atmospheric pressure variations and not influence the transmission of the dynamic pressure signal along the flexible tube.

Said detection device of the device advantageously comprises means of analyzing the pressure variation of the dynamic pressure wave signal and of the dynamic pressure pulsed wave transmitted from the emitting panel to the receiving means, able to process this information and to determine the presence firstly of an impact on the flexible tube or secondly of a partial or total pinching of the latter and adapt a command to stop or retract the mobile panel immediately upon its detection.

Furthermore, these analysis means incorporate in their processing compensations for the wear of the components and of the sensors by a loop for automatically regulating the gains and/or impact and pinching thresholds, making the system almost or completely insensitive to climatic variations (temperature, humidity, pressure) and to any changes in attenuation of the channel of the flexible tube.

One advantage of these automatic corrections is to allow the adaptation of the device to various applications of the device, this simplifying maintenance by reducing the references in stock.

With reference to the drawings and in particularFIGS. 1 to 3, the door chassis1with sliding window3for a motor vehicle represented mainly comprises a top window5, a solid bottom part6corresponding to the bottom of the door and positioned under the window5, a glazing panel or window3fitted to slide in the window5of the door and able to open or close said window5, a device7for driving the glazing panel3slide-wise, a device for regulating and controlling9the driving of the glazing panel3, and a glazing panel3closure safety device11.

The window5is delimited by a top peripheral frame portion13of the door provided with a bottom rebate15, which receives in its internal U-shaped portion17(FIG. 3) a profiled flexible seal19with crossed external lips21receiving the glazing panel3on closure.

This seal19is arranged over the entire circumference of the internal edge of the frame13of the opening of the window, in said rebate15. It has a substantially U-shaped section corresponding to the U-shaped section of the rebate15with two folded external lateral wings23, inside the fold of which it can receive pinch-wise each of the U branches25of the rebate15, and two opposing crossed external lips21at the top of the U receiving deflection-wise and in a seal-tight manner the glazing panel3, substantially in the mid-plane of the U.

It also comprises hook panels projecting at the base of the U27and at the ends of the fold of the wings29, respectively cooperating with complementary cavities receiving the rebate15, and by means of which it can be rapidly fitted by snap-fitting into the rebate15.

This seal19is obtained from an extrusion of synthetic elastomer material and comprises a flexible tube31, preferably made of cellular rubber, arranged protruding on the lateral wing23, on the inside of the vehicle, this tube being oriented toward the opening of the window5of the door.

The flexible tube31forms part of the closure safety device11for the abovementioned glazing panel3and is adjacent to the lip21adjoining the corresponding support wing23.

It comprises a substantially semi-circular or circular regular section, extending over the internal surround of the window opening5, apart from the bottom horizontal side of the window5where it loops back into the bottom part6of the door. The dimensions of its external section vary from 4 to 8 mm and that of its internal section from 2 to 4 mm. Its length can be several meters. Its wall is optionally seal-tight and is easily deformable. It includes a small hole (not represented) to open it to the atmosphere.

The glazing panel3is a conventional sheet of glass geometrically shaped to the opening of the frame13of the window. This sheet of glass3slides vertically down or up, by the action of its driving device7to open or close the window5of the door.

The device7for driving the glazing panel3slide-wise is of the type with vertical rail33and cable (not represented) linked to the glazing panel3and to the support of the glazing panel. This cable is pulled in a loop on a pulley driven by a built-in electric motor35. It is mounted in the bottom portion of the door.

The driving regulation and control device9comprises an electronic casing37housed in the bottom portion6of the door. It is linked to the motor35of the driving device and to said closure safety device11for the glazing panel3. This casing is conventional and makes it possible to control the opening or closure of the window of the door by the glazing panel in conjunction with an authorization of said closure safety device11described hereinbelow. If this authorization is deactivated during closure, it orders the instantaneous re-opening of the glazing panel3.

The closure safety device11for the glazing panel comprises the abovementioned flexible tube31and a casing39housing the means emitting40aand receiving40bdynamic pressure waves (sonic or infrasonic for example), each linked to one end of the flexible tube31. These emitting and receiving panels each comprise (FIG. 2) an acoustic transducer (piezoelectric for example), an emitter41aof a dynamic pressure wave signal (reference signal) and receiver41bof the dynamic pressure wave signal transmitted by the flexible tube, respectively, incorporated in a suitable chamber, emitting42aand receiving42b, open to the atmosphere through a small hole on its chamber,44′a,44′band its bottom portion,44a,44b, respectively, and linked by its top portion to one end of the flexible tube31.

It should be noted that there are many fitting combinations, that are flexible and insulated, of the emitting and receiving panels, the transducers for example each being able to be linked in a closed or common casing to the flexible tube by a flexible, seal-tight sleeve, and the signal processing integrated circuit plate being able to close the casing in its rear portion, this plate also being able to be mounted flexibly on the casing and in non-rigid electrical connection so as to be insulated from the external vibrations.

The emission42aor reception42bchambers (sonic or infrasonic) are phonically insulated from one another and from the external surroundings, within the casing. In the example, they are identical to one another, of relatively flat configuration and with a small volume. They are fitted flexibly linked on the casing to the flexible tube by a seal45at the end of the flexible tube. They are each linked to the atmosphere through a fine lateral hole44a′,44b′ and a second fine bottom hole44aand44bin their rear portion. The chambers are thus matched in dynamic pressure impedance to receive and emit a dynamic high-pressure signal, because of the small section of the flexible tube.

The emitting means40acan emit a frequency-modulated signal, with two frequencies close to one another (for example at approximately 200 Hz and included in the sonic spectrum). The receiving means40breceives the signal transmitted at the other end of the flexible tube31with an amplitude slightly attenuated when the flexible tube is not blocked (pinched). The received signal is transmitted to the driving regulation and control device9, which processes it and analyzes it in order to determine whether the variation of the acoustic pressure of the sonic signal transmitted from the emitting panel corresponds or not to an obstacle in contact with the flexible tube (with docking impact and/or crushing) in order to deactivate the closure authorization of the window5and initiate a re-opening of the glazing panel3. The absence of an obstacle is checked immediately the system is started up, therefore before each closure movement of the glazing or of the chassis.

The processing of the signal to detect impact within the analysis and processing means of the regulation and control device9can consist, for example, in filtering, by low-pass analog filtering, the output of the transmitted sonic signal, in amplifying it, in digitizing it, in averaging it over a sliding time period that is a multiple of the emission frequency (in order to cancel the average value of the reference signal), and in comparing the results of this calculation to maximum threshold values allowed on the drift and the absolute value of this impact average, established proportionally to the average amplitude of the reference signal received.

The processing of the signal for the detection of pinching consists in performing a digital processing according to a Fourier transform of the values of this signal.

In order to make this processing robust with regard to possible vibratory and acoustic disturbances external to the device, the reference frequency (of the reference signal) is frequency-modulated so that the results of the average convolution are stable even if the external disturbances are strong. This necessitates an integration of the calculations in relation to the frequency modulation that can be, for example, linear, triangular, sinusoidal or other. Because of said integration, the detection of pinching becomes less reactive in relation to a pinching but robust with respect to dreaded events which are failure to trigger in case of pinching in a disturbed environment and unwanted triggering in case of disturbances.

As with the impact, the result of these calculations of convolution of the received signal with the frequency-modulated reference signal and of the short- and medium-term averages of the result are compared to thresholds established proportionally to the average amplitude of the received signal filtered over the long term, or:a maximum threshold allowed on the short-term drift,a minimum value in relation to the short-term pinching average relative to the long-term average.

Said reception signal filtered over the long term must itself be greater than a minimum threshold set according to the construction of the detection device in order to ensure a dynamic range and a minimum accuracy for the detection device.

Said modulation is essential to the robustness of the device. It justifies the need for an impact detection to retain an excellent reactivity, backed by the detection of pinching for unfailing safety.

The contact of an obstacle with the flexible tube generates an impact that is translated inside the latter by a low-frequency sonic pulse wave of approximately 10 to 100 Hz (with one or two rapidly damped pulses) for this type of flexible tube made of elastomer rubber and this wave can be detected by the acoustic receiving panel40bimmediately upon the detection of the contact impact in order to make it possible to deactivate the closure very little time after the contact with the obstacle (a few ms corresponding to signal propagation and processing time). Thus, the deactivation of the closure is activated either when the obstacle docks with the flexible tube (on contact impact with the obstacle without crushing of the flexible tube) or on partial crushing of the flexible tube if there is no impact such as, for example, if the pinching was done before the system was switched on.

The attenuation of the dynamic pressure of the transmitted signal varies directly with the crushing of the flexible tube by the obstacle and it is possible to deactivate the closure of the mobile panel at a predetermined crushing level of the flexible tube, for example at 20-40% crushing of the latter, thus avoiding the crushing of a person's finger.

The operation of the door chassis1for a vehicle is now described. It is derived from the preceding description.

If we assume that the glazing panel3is closing and a finger43of a person (FIG. 3) is accidentally applied to the window edge5of the door chassis1, for example at the top level of the latter, the glazing panel3under the control of the driving regulation and control device9and under the action of its driving device7, will rise until it comes into contact with the finger43, which will touch the flexible tube31. The docking contact of the finger with the tube generates a sonic impact wave which is detected by the acoustic receiving panel40b. The signal is processed and it is recognized after analysis as corresponding to an impact. The regulation and control device9then instantaneously deactivates the closure and produces a command to immediately re-open the glazing panel3. If no impact occurs through the contact of the finger43on the glazing panel3, the finger will then flatten the flexible tube upon its contact (broken line inFIG. 3). The deformation of the flexible tube31will generate a restriction inside the latter, which will reduce the transmission of the sonic signal to its level and this variation in the dynamic pressure will be detected by the receiving panel40band the latter will generate, as mentioned above, a dynamic pressure variation signal to the driving regulation and control device9. The latter will then produce a command to immediately re-open the glazing panel3, therefore avoiding damaging the touched finger43.

It should be noted that the invention can also be applied as a variant embodiment (FIGS. 4 and 5) to a vehicle sliding door that is electrically driven.

In this case, the flexible tube31′ is no longer fixed to the edge of the chassis frame1′ receiving the mobile panel3′, but to the edge of the mobile panel3′, being turned toward the opposite edge of the facing chassis frame (the center pillar of the bodywork).

The flexible tube31′ is thus glued (by double-sided adhesive tape for example) to the edge of the sliding door3′ facing toward the center pillar1′ of the bodywork of the motor vehicle. This flexible tube31′ is configured in a substantially rectilinear line (thick line inFIG. 4) over the entire height of the external vertical edge of the door3′, where an obstacle can be applied (for example, a hand or fingers43′ of a person).

The means emitting dynamic pressure waves from the flexible tube (not represented) can be arranged at one end of the flexible tube31′, for example at the bottom end, whereas its top end is linked to the corresponding acoustic receiving panel (not represented), thus covering a safety area corresponding substantially to the length of the flexible tube. The flexible tube31′ can also be looped (chain-dotted line) returning to the inside of the door to protect that as well.

It should be noted that the flexible tube31″ could also be arranged along the external edge of the center pillar1′ (chain-dotted line inFIG. 5) and possibly looped.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the abovementioned embodiments, but can be applied to any mobile panel (FIG. 7) equipped with a safety device according to the invention (broken line) in relation to a chassis frame in an area where an obstacle can be inserted between the frame and the mobile panel, and for example to a vehicle trunk cover or tailgate or an opening roof of a vehicle, etc., operated by an electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic driving device (not represented).

Furthermore, as represented inFIG. 6a, the flexible tube31′″ can be co-extruded with a seal46between the mobile panel and the chassis, being, for example, housed inside the seal (protected), in a space away from the seal-tight closure deformation of the latter (broken line). Only an obstacle deforms the flexible tube31′″.

The flexible tube31″″ (FIG. 6b) can also be mounted on the seal47inserted in a flexible lip49of the latter, which facilitates its mounting.

It will be noted, finally, that the flexible tube can include two adjacent channels, obtained from co-extrusion for example, and each able to route one the forward signal and the other the return signal, the continuity of the signal from forward to return being achieved by an appropriate strap at the end of the tube.

The invention thus provides an obstacle safety device for chassis with mobile panel, which ensures a soft closure contact with no risk of injuring a person, independent of the wear and the driving forces of the mobile panel and of the shear areas or corners of the frame, which can be adapted in the closure area to be secured to numerous chassis with mobile panels.

Finally, the invention relates generally to an obstacle detection device comprising deformable tubular means or a flexible tube, characterized bymeans of detecting the docking impact of the obstacle against the deformable tubular means or flexible tube, for example by measuring the sonic or infrasonic pulse and/or pressure wave, emitted in the deformable tubular means or flexible tube upon the docking impact of the obstacle against the deformable tubular means or flexible tube,means of detecting the pinching or crushing of the obstacle on the deformable tubular means or flexible tube, for example by measuring variation of the pressure of the air generated by the pinching or crushing and/or of a sonic or infrasonic signal, transmitted within the deformable tubular means or flexible tube,analysis means incorporating, in their processing, compensations for the wear of the components and the sensors by a loop for automatically regulating the gains and/or impact and pinching thresholds, rendering the device almost or completely insensitive to the climatic variations (temperature, humidity, pressure) and to any changes in attenuation of the channel of the flexible tube, and a self-checking device for checking for the absence of an obstacle on the flexible tube, started up immediately upon the control of the mobile panel or immediately upon the starting up of the vehicle and checking that the transmission of the dynamic pressure wave signal from the emitting panel to the receiving panel takes place normally and without obstacle before activating the obstacle detection device.