Power tailgate control system and method
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorNorman C. Kerr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method of operating a power tailgate assembly for a vehicle. The system can detect that a tailgate, connected to the vehicle by a pivotal connection and having an open position and a closed position, is in the open position, detect that the vehicle is being driven, detect, by one or more sensors, a movement of the tailgate, and control a motor assembly to restrain movement of the tailgate and return the tailgate to the open position in response to detecting that the tailgate is in the open position, the vehicle is being driven, and the tailgate has moved more than a threshold amount.
Claims20
A power tailgate assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a tailgate connected to the vehicle by a pivotal connection, the tailgate having an open position, a closed position, and a removal position;
- a motor assembly connected to the tailgate and configured to cause the tailgate to move between the closed position and the open position;
- one or more sensors configured to detect a movement of the tailgate;
- one or more processors;
- and
- a memory communicably connected to the one or more processors and storing a control logic module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to control the motor assembly to restrain the movement of the tailgate and to return the tailgate to the open position when the one or more processors determine that:
- 1) the tailgate is in the open position, 2) the vehicle is being driven, and 3) the one or more sensors detect that the tailgate has moved from the open position more than a threshold amount.
A method of operating a power tailgate assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- an operation of detecting that a tailgate, connected to the vehicle by a pivotal connection and having an open position, a closed position, and a removal position, is in the open position;
- an operation of detecting that the vehicle is being driven;
- an operation of detecting, by one or more sensors, a movement of the tailgate from the open position;
- and
- in response to determinations that the tailgate is in the open position, the vehicle is being driven, and the tailgate has moved from the open position more than a threshold amount, an operation of controlling a motor assembly to restrain the movement of the tailgate and to return the tailgate to the open position.
A vehicle including a power tailgate assembly, the power tailgate assembly comprising:
- a tailgate connected to the vehicle by a pivotal connection, the tailgate having an open position, a closed position, and a removal position;
- a motor assembly connected to the tailgate, the motor assembly configured to cause the tailgate to move between the closed position and the open position;
- one or more sensors configured to detect a movement of the tailgate and a speed of the movement of the tailgate;
- one or more processors;
- and
- a memory communicably connected to the one or more processors and storing a control logic module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to control the motor assembly to restrain the movement of the tailgate and to return the tailgate to the open position when the one or more processors determine that:
- 1) the tailgate is in the open position, 2) the vehicle is being driven, and 3) the one or more sensors detect that the tailgate has moved from the open position more than a threshold amount.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.