Patent Publication Number: US-10329824-B2

Title: Vehicle door glass lifting device with foreign objection detection

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a U.S. National Phase of PCT/JP 2015/055649 filed on Feb. 26, 2015 claiming priority to Japanese Patent application No. 2014 -185205 filed on Sep. 11, 2014 . The disclosure of the PCT Application is hereby incorporated by reference into the present Application. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to a vehicle door glass lifting device which operates to lift and lower a door glass along a window frame of a vehicle door. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     An opening and closing body control device is known which operates to lift or lower a door glass of a vehicle by the driving force of a motor and which has a sufficient countermeasure so as to prevent a driver&#39;s or passenger&#39;s finger etc. from being nipped (see e.g. PTL1 ). 
     The opening and closing body control device disclosed in PTL1 operates to move a career plate fixed to the door glass along a guide rail by the driving force of the electric motor. A drum which is rotated by the driving force of the electric motor is arranged at the lower end of the guide rail. The career plate is moved in the vertical direction by a wire wound around the drum. 
     Also, the opening and closing body control device disclosed in PTL1 operates to detect the nipping of a foreign object on the basis of change of the rotational speed of the electric motor when the door glass is lifted. If the opening and closing body control device detects the nipping of the foreign object, the opening and closing body control device operates to lower the door glass. This kind of opening and closing body control device may have a dead zone where the opening and closing body control device does not detect the nipping of the foreign object near the fully closed position of the door glass so as not to incorrectly detect the contact between the top end part of the door glass and the glass runs etc. as the nipping of the foreign object when closing the door glass completely. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     PTL1: JP-A-2009-7919 (paragraphs [0034], [0035], and [0068]) 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     It is preferable to set the dead zone as narrowly as possible because the nipping of the foreign object often occurs just before closing the door glass completely. However, if the dead zone is too narrow, the contact with the glass runs etc. may be incorrectly detected as the nipping of the foreign object because of disturbance such as the vibration of the vehicle and the sliding resistance change of the door glass. Thus, it is limited to narrow the dead zone and it is hard to set the width of the dead zone to be less than the thickness of the child&#39;s finger. 
     If the device is configured so as to detect a position of the door glass by the rotation number of the motor and so as not to detect the nipping of the foreign object while the detected position is included in the dead zone, the dead zone needs to be set widely in anticipation of a positional shift, which is caused by the possibility that the drum which is made of resin is worn away by the wire and reduced in diameter such that the actual position of the door glass shifts below. Also, the positional shift may be caused by the stretching of the wire across the ages. Thus, in view of these points, it is also limited to narrow the dead zone. 
     It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a vehicle door glass lifting device that can certainly detect the nipping of the foreign object near the fully closed position of the door glass by removing the dead zone which has been set so as to prevent the device from detecting incorrectly. 
     Solution to Problem 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, a vehicle door glass lifting device comprises:
         a lifting and lowering mechanism by which a door glass is lifted or lowered relative to a window frame of a vehicle door;   a contact sensor that is arranged on a top end surface of the door glass and extended along a longitudinal direction of the top end surface of the door glass; and   a control part that controls the lifting and lowering mechanism,   wherein the contact sensor can detect a contact state including a contact length with a contact object, and   wherein the control part determines whether or not the contact object is a foreign object based on the contact state detected by the contact sensor, and   wherein the control part lowers the door glass when the contact object is determined as the foreign object.       

     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, a vehicle door glass lifting device can be provided that can detect certainly the nipping of the foreign object nearby the fully closing position of the door glass by removing the dead zone which has been set so as to prevent the device from error detecting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration diagram showing a schematic structure of a vehicle door comprising a vehicle door glass lifting device according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 2A  is a partial cross sectional view showing an electric motor and a housing. 
         FIG. 2B  is a cross sectional view showing a housing cut along the line C-C in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view cut along the line A-A in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view cut along the line B-B in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5A  is a front view showing a contact sensor. 
         FIG. 5B  is a cross sectional view cut along the line D-D in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 5C  is a cross sectional view cut along the line E-E in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 5D  is a cross sectional view showing a contact state with a foreign object. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a connecting state between the contact sensor and a cable at a front side end of the door glass. 
         FIG. 7A  is an illustration diagram showing a structure and a movement of a contact detecting portion of a control device and the contact sensor. 
         FIG. 7B  is an illustration diagram showing the structure and the movement of the contact detecting portion of the control device and the contact sensor. 
         FIG. 7C  is an illustration diagram showing the structure and the movement of the contact detecting portion of the control device and the contact sensor. 
         FIG. 7D  is an illustration diagram showing the structure and the movement of the contact detecting portion of the control device and the contact sensor. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by a CPU as a control part. 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the CPU in the second embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the CPU in the third embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     [Embodiment] 
     Next, a structure and a movement of a vehicle door glass lifting device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 8 . 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration diagram showing a schematic structure of a vehicle door  1  comprising a vehicle door glass lifting device  100  according to the present embodiment. 
     The door  1  is provided with a window part  1   a . The window part  1   a  is provided with a door glass  10  so as to be openable and closable. The door  1  is also provided with a door sash  11  as a window frame which defines the window part  1   a  above a belt line  1   b . A door inner space is defined between an outer panel  13  and an inner panel (not shown) which is opposite to the outer panel  13  below the belt line  1   b.    
     The vehicle door glass lifting device  100  is provided with a window regulator  2  as a lifting and lowering mechanism which operates a door glass  10  to lift or lower (open or close) toward the door sash  11 , a contact sensor  3  which is arranged at a top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10  and extends along a longitudinal direction (a vehicle front-back direction) of the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10 , and a control device  4  which controls the window regulator  2 . The window regulator  2  and the control device  4  are received in the door inner space. 
     The window regulator  2  is provided with a guide rail  21  extending along a moving direction of the door glass  10 , a career plate  22  fixed on a bottom end part of the door glass  10 , wire  23  fixed on the career plate  22 , an electric motor  24  which produces a driving force to lift and lower the door glass  10 , a drum  25  rotated by the driving force of the electric motor  24 , a housing  26  which receives the drum  25 , and a pulley  27  arranged at a top end part of the guide rail  21  as main components. 
     The guide rail  21  is provided with an upper bracket  211  and a lower bracket  212  as fixed parts fixed on the inner panel. The pulley  27  is rotatably supported by the upper bracket  21 . 
       FIG. 2A  is a cross sectional view showing the electric motor  24  and the housing  26  which are cut partly along a rotational axis of the electric motor  24 .  FIG. 2B  is a cross sectional view showing the housing  26  cut along the line C-C in  FIG. 2A . 
     The electric motor  24  is a DC motor having a brush. The electric motor  24  produces the driving force to lift and lower the door glass  10  by receiving motor current supplied from the control device  4  through a cable  29  connected to a connector  260  of the housing  26  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     The electric motor  24  is provided with a yoke  240 , one pair of permanent magnets  241 ,  242  fixed on an inner surface of the yoke  240 , a shaft  243  rotatably supported by the yoke  240 , an armature  244  and a commutator  245  arranged so as to rotate integrally with the shaft  243 , a brush  246  which slides with the commutator  245  along with the rotation of the shaft  243 , and a spring  247  which presses the brush  246  on the commutator  245 . The brush  246  is electrically connected to a terminal (not shown) of the connector  260 . 
     And the shaft  243  is arranged such that a disk-shaped magnetic rotor  291  rotates integrally. One pair of Hall elements  282 ,  283  which are fixed on the housing  26  are opposite to an outer peripheral surface of the magnetic rotor  281 . The magnetic rotor  281  comprises one pair of magnetic poles (the N-pole and the S-pole). And magnetic field direction detected from the Hall elements  282 ,  283  is changed by rotating the magnetic rotor  281 . A detecting signal of the Hall elements  282 ,  283  is a pulse-like signal. The magnetic rotor  281  and the Hall elements  282 ,  283  configure a pulse generator  28  which generates a pulse signal at a frequency along the rotational speed of the shaft  243 . 
     The detected signal of the Hall elements  282 ,  283  (the output signal from the pulse generator  28 ) is output to the control device  4  through the cable  29 . Positions between the Hall elements  282 ,  283  in the rotational direction of the magnetic rotor  281  are different in 90°. Thus, phases of the detected signals of the Hall elements  282 ,  283  are different in 90°. The control device  4  can detect the rotational direction of the electric motor  24  by the difference between the phases. 
     Also, a worm gear mechanism comprising a worm  261  arranged on an output axis of the electric motor  24 , and a worm gear (not shown) which rotates integrally with the drum  25  is received in the housing  26 . When the electric motor  24  rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the drum  25  while the rotational speed is reduced by the worm gear mechanism. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the wire  23  is wound around the drum  25  and the pulley  27 , and top and bottom of the wire  23  are fixed on the career plate  22 . The wire  23  is multiply wound on the drum  25  along a spiral groove formed on an outer peripheral surface of the drum  25 . The career plate  22  is guided with the guide rail  21  and lifted with the door glass  10  while the electric motor  24  rotates normally and the drum  25  rotates toward one direction by the driving force of the electric motor  24 . And the career plate  22  is guided with the guide rail  21  and lowered with the door glass  10  while the electric motor  24  rotates reversely. The control device  4  can detect a position of the door glass  10  by counting a number of the pulse of the detecting signal output from the Hall elements  282 ,  283 . 
     The door glass  10  is operated to be opened and closed in the vertical direction along glass guides  141 ,  142  arranged at the door  1  and the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10  is located in a position lower than a weather strip  15  arranged along the belt line  1   b  while the door glass  10  is fully opened. Also, a glass run channel (hereinafter referred to as “glass run”) made of an elastic body such as rubber is fitted in a concaved groove formed on the glass guides  141 ,  142  and an top part of the door sash  11 . 
     The glass run  16  is arranged at a way from a bottom end of the vehicle front side glass guide  141  to a bottom end of the vehicle rear side glass guide  142  thorough the top part of the door sash  11 , and is integrally formed with a front glass run  16   a  arranged on the vehicle front side glass guide  141 , an upper glass run  16   b  arranged on the top part of the door sash  11 , and a front glass run  16   a  arranged on the vehicle rear side glass guide  142 . The front glass run  16   a  supports a vehicle front side end of the door glass  10  slidably and the rear glass run  16   c  supports a vehicle rear side end of the door glass  10  slidably. Also, the contact sensor  3  contacts on the upper glass run  16   b  while the door glass  10  opens fully. 
     The control device  4  opens and closes the door glass  10  by controlling the electric motor  24  of the window regulator  2  corresponding to a switch operation of a switch  17  arranged at a car room side of the door  1 . And the control device  4  is connected to the contact sensor  3  thorough the cable  5  and can detect the contact with a contact object while the operation of the opening and closing of the door glass  10 . The contact object includes the foreign object such as the driver&#39;s or a passenger&#39;s finger in addition to the weather strip  15  or the glass run  16 . The control device  4  lowers the door glass  10  so as to prevent the foreign object from being nipped while the contact sensor  3  detects the contact with the foreign object. 
     The contact sensor  3  is fixed on the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10  by adhesion and is configured and arranged such that an end of the contact sensor  3  in the extending direction fails to detect the contact with the glass run  16  (the front glass run  16   a  and the rear glass run  16   c ) which is fit in the glass guides  141 ,  142 . 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view along the line A-A of  FIG. 1 . The glass run  16  is provided with a receiving space  160  to receive the end of the door glass  10 , which is made by extrusion molding of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. The glass run  16  is integrally provided with a bottom wall  161  formed at inner of the receiving space  160 , a vehicle interior sidewall  162  extended from a vehicle interior side end of the bottom wall  161  toward the window part  1   a , a vehicle exterior sidewall  163  extended from an vehicle exterior side end of the bottom wall  161  toward the window part  1   a , a vehicle interior side seal lip  164  projected from the vehicle interior sidewall  162  toward the receiving space  160 , a vehicle exterior side seal lip  165  projected from the vehicle exterior sidewall  163  toward the receiving space  160 , a vehicle interior side cover lip  166  projected from the vehicle interior sidewall  162  toward the opposite side to the receiving space  160 , and a vehicle exterior side cover lip  167  projected from the vehicle exterior sidewall  163  toward the opposite side to the receiving space  160 . 
     The receiving space  160  is defined by the bottom wall  161 , the vehicle interior sidewall  162 , and the vehicle exterior sidewall  163 . The bottom wall  161  is arranged at the top end part of the receiving space  160  in the upper glass run  16   b . The vehicle interior side seal lip  164  contacts slidably with an inner surface  10   b  of the door glass  10  in the receiving space  160  and the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165  contacts slidably with an outer surface  10   c  of the door glass  10  in the receiving space  160 . 
     The contact sensor  3  which is arranged at the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10  is pushed on and contacts the bottom wall  161  of the upper glass run  16   b . The bottom walls  161  of the front glass run  16   a  and the rear glass run  16   c  are opposite to a front end surface and a rear end surface of the door glass  10 . However, a space between the bottom wall  161  of the front glass run  16   a  and the bottom wall  161  of the rear glass run  16   c  are formed longer than the length of the door glass  10  in the vehicle front-rear direction such that the door glass  10  is slidably supported. Thus, the door glass  10  is inclined barely in being lifted and lowered for the vehicle front side or the vehicle rear side. For example, an inclined angle of the door glass  10  to the horizontal direction in being lifted and lowered is 0.2° to 0.5°. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view along the line B-B of  FIG. 1 . The weather strip  15  is configured by an inner member  15 A which is fixed at top end part of the inner panel  12  in the belt line  1   b  and an outer member  15 B which is fixed at top end part of the outer panel  13  in the belt line  1   b . The inner member  15 A is integrally provided with a vehicle interior side seal lip  151  which contacts slidably on the inner surface  10   b  of the door glass  10 , a fitting part  152  which is fit and fixed at the end of the inner panel  12 , and a fin  153  projected from the fitting part  152  toward upper. The outer member  15 B is provided with a core member  154  which is fixed at the end of the outer panel  13 , a jointing part  155  which is jointed to the core member  154 , a vehicle interior side seal lip  151  which projects from the jointing part  155  toward the vehicle interior side and contacts slidably on the outer surface  10   c  of the door glass  10 , and a fin  157  formed at upper of the vehicle exterior side seal lip  156 . 
     The core member  154  is made of a metal such as iron or stainless, or resin. The vehicle interior side seal lip  151 , the fitting part  152 , the fin  153 , the jointing part  155 , the vehicle exterior side seal lip  156 , and the fin  157  are made of the rubber such as EPDM. 
     While the door glass  10  shifts from the fully opening state to the fully closing state, firstly, the contact sensor  3  contacts the vehicle interior side seal lip  151  and the vehicle exterior side seal lip  156  of the weather strip  15 , and then contacts the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165  of the glass run  16 . And if the foreign body contacts the contact sensor  3  while the door glass  10  shifts from the fully opening state to the fully closing state, the control device  4  lowers the door glass  10  so as to prevent the foreign object from being nipped. Next, the configuration of the contact sensor  3  will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 5A to 5D . 
     (Configuration of the Contact Sensor  3 ) 
       FIG. 5A  is a front view showing a part of the contact sensor  3  arranged at the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10  in the longitudinal direction viewed from upper orthogonal to the top end surface  10   a .  FIG. 5B  is a cross sectional view cut along the line D-D in  FIG. 5A .  FIG. 5C  is a cross sectional view cut along the line E-E in  FIG. 5A .  FIG. 5D  is a cross sectional view showing a contact state which a finger F as the foreign object contacts the contact sensor  3  cut along the line D-D in  FIG. 5A . 
     The contact sensor  3  is provided with a contact member  31  which is elastically deformed by contacting with a contact object, a holding member  32  which holds the contact member  31 , a contact detecting portion  33  which outputs an electric signal which means the contact with the contact object, and a plate-shaped mounting member  34  which is interposed between the holding member  32  and the contact detecting portion  33 , and the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10 . 
     The contact member  31  is made of flexible material such as rubber, and is elastically deformed by contacting with the contact object. The holding member  32  is made of a material whose elastic modulus is more than an elastic modulus of the contact member  31 , which can use substantially, for example, polycarbonite, acryl, or polyacetal. Herein, the elastic modulus is a value dividing stress by strain within an elastic limit. And the elastic modulus means that the higher elastic modulus, a harder and hardly deformable material. 
     The holding member  32  is fixed on the door glass  10  through the mounting member  34 . The holding member  32  and the contact detecting portion  33  are bonded on the upper surface  34   a  of the mounting member  34  and the lower surface  34   b  is bonded on the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10 . 
     Also, the holding member  32  is provided with one pair of wall parts  321  which sandwich the contact member  31  in a width direction of the door glass  10  (a vehicle width direction), and a plurality of window parts  320  which are made between the one pair of wall parts  321  and in which a part of the contact member  31  is inserted. Each of the window parts  320  is a slot extending along the longitudinal direction of the contact sensor  3  in the top view shown in  FIG. 5A  and defined by a beam portion  322  which is integrally made with the wall part  321 .  FIG. 5A  shows an edge of the window part  320  by dashed-line. 
     The contact detecting portion  33  is provided with a first conductive member  331  arranged along the longitudinal direction of the top end surface  10   a  of the door glass  10 , a second conductive member  332  which is arranged in parallel to the first conductive member  331  and whose resistance per unit length is more than a resistance per unit length of the first conductive member  331 , one pair of separating members  333  which separate contactably and separatably between the first conductive member  331  and the second conductive member  332 . The first conductive member  331  and the second conductive member  332  contact each other at a contact position between the contact member  31  and the contact object by being pressed by the contact member  31 . 
     The second conductive member  332  is an electric resistance having a specified resistivity, for example, which is made of conductive rubber and is fixed on the upper surface  34   a  of the mounting member  34  by using fixing means such as adhesion. For example, the mounting member  34  is made of the resin material as with the holding member  32 . For example, the first conductive member  331  is made of a good conductive metal such as Aluminum or Copper and arranged in parallel to the second conductive member  332 . 
     The contact member  31  is provided with a pressing portion  311  which is inserted through the window part  320  formed in the holding member  32  and presses the contact detecting portion  33 , and a contacting portion  312  which contacts the contact object at an opposite side to the contact detecting portion  33  from the window part  320  (the upper side from the window part  320 ). Then, as shown in  FIG. 5D , when the contact object (the finger F) contacts on an upper surface  312   a  of the contacting portion  312  and the contacting portion  312  is downwardly pushed and elastically deformed by the pressure caused by the contact, the pressing portion  311  is downwardly pushed from the window part  320  and downwardly presses the first conductive member  331  of the contact detecting portion  33 . The first conductive member  331  contacts the second conductive member  332 . 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a connecting state between the contact sensor  3  and a cable  5  at a front side end of the door glass  10 .  FIGS. 7A to 7D  is an illustration diagram schematically showing a configuration of the contact detecting portion  33  of the contact sensor  3 . 
     The control device  4  and the contact sensor  3  are connected with first to third electric wires  51  to  53  of the cable  5 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the first to third electric wires  51  to  53  are covered with a sheath  50 . The sheath  50  and the first to third electric wires  51  to  53  configure the cable  5 . The first to third electric wires  51  to  53  are insulated electric wires which cover a core wire made of a conductive wire such as Copper with an insulator made of, for example, resin and rubber. Meanwhile, it is not shown, an end of the contact sensor  3  is sealed with silicone resin and so on, and prevents water and so on from entering into the contact detecting portion  33  or a space between the contact member  31  and the holding member  32 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7A to 7D , the control device  4  is provided with a central processing unit (CPU)  40  which performs a process based on a preliminary memorized program, a direct current power source  41 , an ampere meter  42  which measures output current from the direct current power source  41 , first and second switching elements  43 ,  44 , and current output part  45  to supply motor current to the electric motor  24 . 
     The CPU  40  can detect the output current from the direct current power source  41  by receiving a detecting signal from the ampere meter  42 . And the CPU  40  can receive the detecting signals from the Hall elements  282 ,  283  through the cable  29 . Furthermore, the CPU  40  can output control signal for the current output part  45  such that the electric motor  24  rotates normally or reversely. That is, the CPU  40  functions as a control part which controls the window regulator  2 . 
     The first and second switching elements  43 ,  44  are turned on/off by the CPU  40 . Meanwhile, although the first and second switching elements  43 ,  44  are configured from transistors, an element such as Field Effect Transistor (FET) or solid state relay can be used. 
     In the below explanation, a state which can supply the current to the first and second switching elements  43 ,  44  is referred to as an ON state, and a state which the first and second switching elements  43 ,  44  shuts the current is referred to as an OFF state. The CPU  40  controls the first and second switching element  43 ,  44  such that as one of the switching elements is in the ON state, the other switching element is in the OFF state. 
     The first electric wire  51  connects electrically the first switching element  43  in the control device  4  and one end of the first conductive member  331  in the contact sensor  3 . The second electric wire  52  connects electrically an output side of the ampere meter  42  in the control device  4  and one end of the second conductive member  332  in the contact sensor  3 . The third electric wire  53  connects electrically the second switching element  44  in the control device  4  and the other end of the second conductive member  332  in the contact sensor  3 . Furthermore, the other end of the first conductive member  331  in the contact sensor  3  is an open end. Thus, the other end of the first conductive member  331  is not electrically connected to any member. 
     In the below explanation, one end of the second conductive member  332  which is connected to the second electric wire  52  is referred to as the point A, one end of the first conductive member  331  which is connected to the first electric wire  51  is referred to as the point B, and the other end of the second conductive member  332  which is connected to the third electric wire  53  is referred to as the point C. 
       FIG. 7A  shows non energizing state that the current is not output from the direct current power source  41 .  FIG. 7B  shows a current path in the state that the direct current power source  41  outputs the current and the second switching element  44  is in the ON state, and the contact object fails to contact with the contact sensor  3  represented by using the bold line. In the state shown in  FIG. 7B , the output current from the direct current power source  41  flows along the second conductive member  332  from the point A to the point C and the ampere meter  42  detects a current value by dividing the power voltage of the direct current power source  41  by the whole resistance of the second conductive member  332 . 
       FIG. 7C  shows a state that the contact object contacts with the contact sensor  3  at the contact place P in the state shown in  FIG. 7B  and a current path output from the direct current power source  41  in the state represented by using the bold line. The first conductive member  331  and the second conductive member  332  are contacted at the contact place P by being pressed by the pressing portion  311  of the contact member  31 . Thus, the output current from the direct current power source  41  flows the first conductive member  331  whose resistance is low. Hereby, the resistance in the current path from the point A to the point C is reduced, thus the current value which is detected in the ampere meter  42  is increased. The CPU  40  in the control device  4  can detect that the contact object contacts the contact sensor  3  by the current change. 
     The resistance per unit length in the longitudinal direction of the whole of second conductive member  332  is constant in the whole of the second conductive member  332  from the point A to the point C. Thus, the CPU  40  can calculate the contact length between the first conductive member  331  and the second conductive member  332  by calculating the resistance between the point A and the point C by an operation based on the detected value in the ampere meter  42 . That is, the CPU  40  can detect the contact length L P  at the contact place P between the contact object and the contact sensor  3  on the basis of the electrical resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  in the longitudinal direction. 
     If the door glass  10  is in the closed state and the contact sensor  3  contacts the upper glass run  16   b  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ) along the whole of the contact sensor  3  in the longitudinal direction, the contact length L P  is equal to the whole length of the second conductive member  332  and the resistance between the point A and the point C is substantially zero. Meanwhile, if the contact object is, for example, the driver&#39;s finger, the electrical resistance between the point A and the point C becomes, for example, 90 to 99% of the electric resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332 , which is different from the closing state of the door glass  10 . Thus, the CPU  40  can determine whether the contact object is the foreign object or not under at least a condition that the contact length L P  with the contact object detected by the contact sensor  3  is less than the specified value. Furthermore, the electrical resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  means an electrical resistance between the both ends (between the point A and the point C) of the stand-alone second conductive member  332  in the longitudinal direction which fails to have any contact with the first conductive member  331 . 
     Also, the CPU  40  in the control device  4  can detect the contact position with the contact object by switching the second switching element  44  to the OFF state and the first switching element  43  to the ON state and changing the current path of the output current from the direct current power source  41  when the contact object contacts with the contact sensor  3 .  FIG. 7D  shows the current path in the state by using the bold line. 
     According to the changing of the ON/OFF state of the first and second switching elements  43 ,  44 , the output current from the direct current power source  41  reflects at one end P 1  (the point A side end and the point B side end) of the contact place P and flows forward the first switching element  43  through the point B and the first electric wire  51 . 
     The CPU  40  in the control device  4  can calculate the distance from the point A to the one end P 1  of the contact place P, that is, the one end P 1  which is a origin of the contact place P by calculating the resistance between the point A and the point B based on the detected value in the ampere meter  42  in the state shown in  FIG. 7D . Furthermore, the CPU  40  can also calculate the position of the other end P 2  (the point C side end) which is the end point of the contact place P by considering the position of the one end P 1  of the contact place P with the contact length L P  in the contact place P. 
     Thus, the CPU  40  can also determine whether the contact object is the foreign object or not by considering the positions of the one end P 1  and the other end P 2  of the contact place P in addition to the contact length L P  with the contact object. Specifically, for example, the CPU  40  determines whether the contact object is the weather strip  15  or not on the basis of the positions of the one end P 1  and the other end P 2  of the contact place P. If the contact object is determined as the weather strip  15 , not the foreign object, the door glass  10  can continues to be lifted. 
     Hereby, the contact sensor  3  can detect the contact state within the contact length with the contact object. The CPU  40  determines whether the contact object is the foreign object or not on the basis of the contact state detected by the contact sensor  3 . If the contact object is determined as the foreign object, the door glass  10  is lowered. Next, an example of the process that the CPU  40  performs will be described above in conjunction with  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing an example of a process that the CPU  40  in the control device  4  performs when movement of the door glass  10  for the closing direction (lifting) by operating the switch  17  is commanded. In the flowchart, the CPU  40  determines whether the contact object is the foreign object or not on the basis of a resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  (between the point A and the point C) which corresponds to the contact length L P  at the contact place P between the contact sensor  3  and the contact object (hereinafter the resistance is referred to as “Rac”). 
     The CPU  40  samples the detecting signal in the ampere meter  42  at every 0.5 ms and calculates the Rac. Also, the CPU  40  counts the pulse signal in interrupt process, for example, which is produced in raising the pulse signal from the Hall elements  282 ,  283  and detects the position of the door glass  10  constantly. 
     The CPU  40  outputs a command signal to the current output part  45  and begins to drive normally the electric motor  24  when the closing operation of the door glass  10  is commanded by operating the switch  17  by, for example, the driver (the step S 10 ). The current output part  45  supplies the motor current to the electric motor  24  and the door glass  10  is lifted after the process. 
     Next, the CPU  40  determines whether the position of the door glass  10  is within a specified masked area or not (the step S 11 ). The masked area is set so as to prevent the door glass  10  from being lowered while the CPU  40  determines that the weather strip  15  is the foreign object if the contact sensor  3  contacts the weather strip  15  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  151  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  156 ). The upper limit and bottom limit of the masked area is set corresponding to a range of the position of the door glass  10  in which the contact member  31  of the contact sensor  3  may contacts the weather strip  15 . The CPU  40  fails to perform the nipping determination process after the step S 12  when the position of the door glass  10  is included within the masked area. 
     Meanwhile, the CPU  40  may determine whether the contact object is the weather strip  15  or not on the basis of the positions of the one end P 1  and the other end P 2  of the contact place P instead of the determination whether the door glass  10  is included in the masked area or not, and may stop performing the nipping determination process after the step S 12  while the contact sensor  3  contacts the weather strip  15 . 
     The CPU  40  samples the detecting signal from the ampere meter  42  at every specified sampling period (0.5 ms) and measures the Rac (the step S 12 ) after the door glass  10  is lifted and escapes from the masked area (the step S 11 : No) and determines whether ΔRac which is a difference between the Rac and the Rac in the last period is not less than the specified value S 1  or not (the step S 13 ). The specified value S 1  is set at a small value which is, for example, not more than 0.5% of the resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  so as to avoid an effect caused by an error in the detecting signal of the ampere meter  42  etc. The CPU  40  repeats the step S 12  again if the ΔRac is less than the specified value S 1 . 
     Meanwhile, if the ΔRac is not less than the specified value S 1  (S 13 : YES), that is, the Rac is significantly changed and the contact between the contact sensor  3  and the contact object is detected, the CPU  40  determines whether the contact object is the foreign object or not on the basis of a plurality of the detections of the Rac (10 times in the present embodiment) after the detection of the contact between the contact sensor  3  and the contact object. 
     Accordingly, the CPU  40  determines whether the Rac is substantially Zero or not, specifically, whether the Rac is less than a specified value S 2  considering a measuring error, which is close to zero or not (the step  14 ). The CPU  40  determines that the contact sensor  3  contacts the seal lip of the upper glass run  16   b  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ) and reduce the supply current to the electric motor  24  (the step S 15 ) if the Rac is substantially zero (S 14 : YES). 
     The supply current reducing process in the step  15  may stop completely the supply current to the electric motor  24 , or may reduce gradually the supply current to the electric motor  24  if the process can control the supply current gradually or stably. Even if the supply current to the electric motor  24  is completely stopped, the door glass  10  continues to be lifted caused by the inertia and is stopped by contacting the contact sensor  3  with the bottom wall  161  of the upper glass run  16   b.    
     Meanwhile, if the Rac is not substantially zero in the determination in the step S 14  (S 14 : No), the CPU  40  increments a counter C (the step S 16 ) and determines whether the counter C is a specified number Sc or not (Sc=10 in the present embodiment) (the step S 17 ). Furthermore, the counter C is reset to zero previously before the electric motor  24  begins to drive normally. 
     If the counter C is the specified number Sc in the process in the step S 17  (S 17 : Yes), the CPU  40  determines that the contact object which contacts the contact sensor  3  is the foreign object. Then the electric motor  24  is reversely driven (the step S 18 ) and the door glass  10  is lowered. Specifically, the CPU  40  outputs the command signal to the current output part  45  and supplies the motor current which is reversed from the normal drive to the electric motor  24 . Meanwhile, the CPU  40  may lower the door glass  10  to a lowering end position in the process in the step  18 , or may lower the door glass  10  by specified length (for example, 150 mm) or specified time (for example, 1 second). Hereby nipping of the foreign object can be prevented. 
     Meanwhile, if the counter C is less than the specified number (Sc) (S 17 : No), the CPU  40  measures the Rac (the step S 19 ) and repeat the process after the step S 14  again. 
     According to the above process, if the Rac is specifically zero after detecting that the contact object contacts the contact sensor  3  during a specified period (0.5 ms×10=5 ms in the present embodiment) corresponding to the specified number Sc by the process in the step S 13 , the CPU  40  determines that the contact object is the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the upper glass run  16   b ) and reduce the supply current to the electric motor  24 . The determination process using the specified number Sc considers that the whole of the contact sensor  3  in the lengthwise direction may or may not substantially contact the glass run  16 , for example, when the door glass  10  is lifted while the door glass  10  is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. 
     Meanwhile, if the contact object is the foreign object such as the finger, the Rac fails to be substantially zero during the specified period corresponding to the specified number Sc. Thus, the contact object is determined as the foreign object after the specified period is passed, and the door glass  10  is lowered. That is, the contact object is determined whether the contact object is the foreign object or not under the condition which the Rac is not less than the specified number S 2 , that is to say, the contact length L P  with the contact object is not more than the specified value. 
     According to the first embodiment described above, the nipping of the foreign object nearby the completely closing position of the door glass  10  can be detected certainly without the dead zone so as to prevent detecting falsely because the contact sensor  3  can detect the contact with the foreign object until the contact sensor  3  contacts the glass run  16 . Moreover, the CPU  40  can determines correctly whether the contact object is the foreign object or not because the contact object is determined whether the foreign object or not under the condition that the contact length L P  with the contact object detected by the contact sensor  3  is not more than the specified value. Furthermore, if the CPU  40  detects the contact between the contact sensor  3  and the contact object, the CPU  40  can determine more correctly whether the contact object is the foreign object or not because the CPU  40  determines whether the contact object is the foreign object or not on the basis of the plurality of detection results of the Rac after the detection of the contact between the contact sensor  3  and the contact object. 
     Furthermore, the CPU  40  reduces the supply current to the electric motor  24  if the CPU  40  determines that the contact object is the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ). Thus, the door glass  10  is decelerated when the contact sensor  3  contacts the bottom wall  161  of the glass run  16 . Hereby, an impact which the contact sensor  3  receives can be reduced and a vibration and an impact noise occurred in the door  1  can be reduced comparing with the case that the specified motor current is supplied to the electric motor  24  until the contact sensor  3  contacts the bottom wall  161  of the glass run  16 . 
     [Second Embodiment] 
     Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to  FIG. 9 . The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the processing details that the CPU  40  in the control device  4  performs when the movement of the door glass  10  to the closing direction (lifted) by operating the switch  17  is commanded. However, the structures such as the door glass lifting device for the vehicle  100  are similar to the explanation in the first embodiment with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7D . 
     The process of the CPU  40  according to the present embodiment is invented so as to determine quickly whether the contact object is the foreign object or not with regard to the problem that the nipping of the foreign object is especially easy to cause if the inclination of the door glass  10  to the horizontal direction in lifting the door glass  10  is large. 
     Specifically, it takes relatively long time until the contact sensor  3  contacts the whole of the glass run  16  after detecting a part of the contact sensor  3  firstly detects the contact with the glass run  16  if the inclination of the door glass  10  is large. Thus, the determination time whether the Rac becomes statistically zero or not needs to be long, for example, by enlarging the specified number Sc in the step S 17  shown in the flowchart in  FIG. 8 . And the time to reduce the supply current to the electric motor  24  becomes long. Thus, the lifted length of the door glass  10  while the foreign object contacts with contact sensor  3  and the door glass  10  begins to be lowered becomes longer if the contact object is the foreign object and the nipping may be easy to occur depending on the contact place of the foreign object with the contact sensor  3 . 
     With regard to the problem, the contact object is determined as the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ), not the foreign object if the state that a time rate of change of the contact length L P  at the contact place P, that is specifically, the absolute value of the time rate of change of the Rac continues for a specified time or longer in the present embodiment. That is to say, the contact object is determined as the foreign object when a variation of the contact length between the contact object and the contact sensor  3  is not more than the specified value. 
     Next, a specific example of the detail of the process which the CPU  40  performs will be described below on the basis of the flowchart in  FIG. 9 . 
     The CPU  40  outputs the command signal to the current output part  45  and the electric motor  24  begins to drive normally when the closing operation of the door glass  10  is commanded by operating the switch  17  by the driver etc. (the step S 20 ). Next, the CPU  40  determines whether the position of the door glass  10  is within the specified masked area or not (the step S 21 ). The CPU  40  samples the detecting signal from the ampere meter  42  at every specified sampling period (0.5 ms) and measures the Rac (the step S 22 ) after the door glass  10  is lifted and escapes from the masked area (the step S 21 : No) 
     Next, the CPU  40  compares the Rac measured in the step S 22  with the Rac which is measured in the last sampling period (Hereinafter, the last Rac is referred to as Rac′). Then the CPU  40  determines whether a change rate δRac (δRac=(Rac′−Rac)/Rac′) is within specified range or not, that is, whether the δRac is not less than the first specified value S L  and not more than the second specified value S H  or not (the step S 23 ). In the present embodiment, the first specified value S L  which is the lower limit of the specified range is, for example, 4% and the second specified value S H  which is the upper limit is, for example, 6%. Meanwhile these specified values should be set corresponding to the inclination of the door glass  10  in lifting the door glass  10 . 
     As a result of the determination, if the δRac is within the specified range (S 23 : Yes), the CPU  40  increments a first counter C 1  (the step S 24 ) and resets a second counter C 2  to zero (the step S 25 ). The first counter C 1  is the counter so as to determine whether the state that the Rac is within the specified range continues or not. And the second counter C 2  is the counter value that is incremented in the step S 31  described below, which is the counter so as to determine whether the state that the Rac measured in the step S 22  keep having a significant difference of the resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  or not. 
     Next, the CPU  40  determines whether the first counter C 1  is the specified number Sc 1  or not (the step S 26 ). The specified number Sc 1  is 5 in the present embodiment. As a result of the determination, if the first counter C 1  is the specified number Sc 1  (S 26 : Yes), the CPU  40  determines that the contact object is the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the upper glass run  16   b ) and reduces the supply current to the electric motor  24  (the step S 27 ). That is, the contact object is determined as the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the upper glass run  16   b ) if the state which the δRac is within the specified range continues for the specified time (0.5 ms×5 (Sc 1 )=2.5 ms in the present embodiment). 
     Meanwhile, if the first counter C 1  is less than the specified number Sc 1  in the determination process in the step S 26  (S 26 : No), the CPU  40  substitutes the Rac measured in the step S 22  for the Rac′ (the step S 28 ) and repeats the process after the step S 22  again. 
     And if the Rac is determined that it is not within the specified range in the determination process in the step S 23  (S 23 : No), the CPU  40  resets the first counter C 1  to zero (the step S 29 ), and determines whether the Rac measured in the step S 22  has the significant difference for the resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  or not, that is specifically, whether ΔR (ΔR=R1−Rac) that is the difference between the R 1  which is the resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  and the Rac measured in the step S 22  is larger than the specified value S 3  or not (the step S 30 ). For example, the specified value S 3  is set in the value not more than 0.5% of the R 1 . 
     In the determination process in the step S 30 , if the ΔR is larger than the specified value S 3  (S 30 : Yes), the CPU  40  increments the second counter C 2  (the step S 31 ) and determines whether the second counter C 2  is the specified number Sc 2  or not (the step S 32 ). The specified number Sc 2  is 3 in the present embodiment. 
     As a result of the determination, if the second counter C 2  is the specified number Sc 2  (S 32 : Yes), the CPU  40  determines that the contact object is the foreign object and drives the electric motor  24  reversely (S 33 ). And the door glass  10  is lowered to the lower end. That is, the contact object is determined as the foreign object if the state that ΔR is more than the specified value S 3  continues for the specified period (0.5 ms×3 (Sc 2 )=1.5 ms in the present embodiment). 
     Meanwhile, if the second counter C 2  is less than the specified number Sc 2  in the determination in the step S 32  (S 32 : No), the CPU  40  substitutes the Rac measured in the step S 22  for the Rac′ (the step S 34 ) and repeats the process after the step S 22  again. And if the ΔR is less than the specified number S 3  in the determination process in the step S 30  (S 30 : No), the CPU  40  resets the second counter C 2  to zero (the step S 35 ), substitutes the Rac measured in the step S 22  for the Rac′ (the step S 34 ) and repeats the process after the step S 22  again. 
     According to the second embodiment described above, the contact object is determined as the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the upper glass run  16   b ), not the foreign body, if the state that the time rate of change of the Rac (the change rate δRac) corresponding to the time rate of change of the contact length L P  at the contact place P is within the specified range (not less than the first specified value S L  and not more than the second specified value S H ) continues for the specified time (2.5 ms in the present embodiment). And the CPU  40  determines that the contact object is the foreign object if the state that the Rac measured in the step S 22  has the significant difference for the resistance between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  continues for the specified period. Hereby, the determination whether the contact object is the foreign object or not can be determined quickly if the inclination of the door glass  10  to the horizontal direction in lifting the door glass  10  is large. 
     [Third Embodiment] 
     Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to  FIG. 10 . The present embodiment continues the supply current to the electric motor  24  of the window regulator  2  which produces the driving force to drive the door glass  10  until the contact sensor  3  contacts with the bottom wall  161  of the glass run  16  and the door glass  10  is shut absolutely in the embodiment if the contact object is determined as the seal lip of the glass run  16 . 
     The process which the CPU  40  performs in the present embodiment is common with the second embodiment except the difference in the process which determines the first counter C 1  is the specified number Sc 1  in the step S 26 , that is, the contact object is determined as the seal lip of the glass run  16  (the upper glass run  16   b ) from the process described with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 9  according to the second embodiment. The difference in the process will be specifically described below with reference to  FIG. 10 . 
     The CPU  40  determines whether the Rac is substantially equal to the resistance R 1  between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  or not, especially, whether the δRac which is the difference between R 1  and the Rac is less than the specified value S 4  or not (the step S 36 ) if the first counter C 1  is determined as the specified number Sc 1  in the step S 26  (S 26 : Yes). The determination process is the process so as to verify that the contact sensor  3  is moved upper after escaping the contact state between the contact sensor  3  and the seal lip of the upper glass run  16   b  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ). That is, the CPU  40  detects non-contact state with the seal lip because the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165  fails to contact the contact sensor  3  when the contact sensor  3  approaches the bottom wall  161  by lifting the door glass  10 . 
     In the present embodiment, the specified value S 4  is a little value which is, for example, about 0.5 to 1.5% of the resistance (R 1 ) between the both ends of the conductive member  332 . 
     As a result of the determination, the CPU  40  measures the Rac again (the step S 37 ) and repeats the determination process in the step S 36  again if the Rac is not substantially equal to the resistance (R 1 ) between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  (S 36 : No). 
     Also, as a result of the determination in the step S 36 , the CPU  40  determines whether the Rac is substantially zero or not, especially, whether the Rac is less than the specified value S 5  which is near to zero and is considered with a measurement error etc. or not (the step S 38 ) if the Rac is substantially equal to the resistance (R 1 ) between the both ends of the second conductive member  332  (S 36 : Yes). And then the CPU  40  stops the supply current to the electric motor  24  (the step S 40 ) if the Rac is substantially zero (S 38 : Yes). The specified value S 5  is the value so as to remove the effect of the error caused by the detecting signal etc. in the ampere meter  42  and is set to the little value which is not more than 0.5% of the R 1 . 
     Meanwhile, the CPU  40  measures the Rac again (the step S 39 ) and repeats the determination process in the step S 38  again if the Rac is not substantially zero in the process in the step S 38  (S 38 : No). 
     According to the process described above, supplying the current for the electric motor  24  which is identical with the current when the door glass  10  is lifted continues until contacting the contact sensor  3  with the bottom wall  161  of the glass run  16  after escaping the contact state between the contact sensor  3  and the seal lip of the upper glass run  16   b  (the vehicle interior side seal lip  164  and/or the vehicle exterior side seal lip  165 ). Thus, the door glass  10  is shut absolutely. 
     Although the first to third embodiments of the invention have been described, the invention according to claims is not to be limited to the embodiments. Further, it should be noted that all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessary to solve the problem of the invention 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present invention can be applied to the door glass lifting device for the vehicle having the detection device to detect the nipping of the foreign object while the door glass for the vehicle is lifted. 
     Further, the various kinds of modifications can be implemented without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, materials, numerals and so on described in the first to third embodiments can be properly changed. 
     REFERENCE SINGS LIST 
     
         
           1  DOOR 
           2  WINDOW REGULATOR 
           3  CONTACT SENSOR 
           4  CONTROL DEVICE 
           10  DOOR GLASS 
           10   a  TOP END SURFACE 
           11  DOOR SASH (WINDOW FRAME) 
           16  GLASS RUN 
           100  VEHICLE DOOR GLASS LIFTING DEVICE 
           164  VEHICLE INTERIOR SIDE SEAL LIP 
           165  VEHICLE EXTERIOR SIDE SEAL LIP 
           331  FIRST CONDUCTIVE MEMBER 
           332  SECOND CONDUCTIVE MEMBER 
           333  SEPARATING MEMBER