Vehicle motor powered mechanism diagnostic system and method using a hall effect sensor
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsEsrafil Jedari, Songlin Wu, Bryan Michael Bolger, Bradley G. Hochrein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A diagnostic system for diagnosing a motor powered mechanism on board a vehicle includes a current detector for detecting current drawn by a motor of the motor powered mechanism, a hall effect sensor operatively coupled to an output of the motor for generating a hall effect position signal, and a controller configured to receive the detected motor current and the hall effect position signal and to determine an obstruction or fault condition associated with the motor powered mechanism based on the detected motor current and hall effect sensor signal.
Claims14
A diagnostic system for diagnosing a motor powered mechanism having an electric motor and a gear assembly on board a vehicle, the diagnostic system comprising:
- a current detector for detecting current drawn by a motor of the motor powered mechanism;
- a hall effect sensor operatively coupled to an output of the motor for generating a hall effect position signal;
- and a controller configured to receive the detected motor current and the hall effect position signal and to determine an obstruction or fault condition associated with the motor powered mechanism based on the detected motor current and hall effect sensor signal, wherein the controller detects a fault condition of the gear assembly including a missing hard stop.
A vehicle seat comprising:
- a seat base;
- a seat back;
- and a motor powered mechanism having a motor and configured to actuate a movement of the seat, wherein the motor powered mechanism comprises a motor and a gear assembly;
- a current detector for detecting current drawn by the motor;
- a hall effect sensor operatively coupled to an output of the motor for generating a hall effect position signal;
- and a controller configured to receive the detected motor current and the hall effect position signal and to determine an obstruction or fault condition associated with the motor powered mechanism based on the detected motor current and hall effect sensor signal, wherein the controller detects a fault condition of the gear assembly including a missing hard stop.
A method of detecting an obstruction or fault condition in a motor powered mechanism having an electric motor and a gear assembly on a motor vehicle, the method comprising:
- detecting current drawn by a motor of the motor powered mechanism;
- sensing with a hall effect sensor a position of an output shaft of the motor and generating a hall effect position signal;
- and determining with a controller an obstruction or fault condition associated with the motor powered mechanism based on the detected motor current and hall effect sensor signal, wherein the controller detects a fault condition of the gear assembly including a missing hard stop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.