Patent ID: 7937893

Claim:
A power sliding door assembly comprising: a door mounted in a vehicle to slide between an open and a closed position; a motor, reversibly operable to move the door towards one of the open and the closed position; a handle, mounted to the door; a handle sensor, operable to detect the grasping of the handle; a controller, connected to the handle sensor and operable to activate the motor when the handle sensor is activated; and wherein, when the door is stopped and the user grasps the handle so as to activate the handle sensor: a) the controller activates the motor to begin to move the door, and b) in the event the door has moved a predetermined distance since the activation of the motor in step (a) and the handle has been grasped by the user so as to continuously activate the handle sensor throughout the movement of the door for said predetermined distance, the controller deactivates the motor to thereby permit the user to move the door manually, and c) in the event the handle sensor is deactivated during the movement of the door for said predetermined distance after the activation of the motor in step (a), the controller continues to activate the motor after the door has travelled for said predetermined distance; said predetermined distance being less than the distance between the open and closed positions of the door.