Power closure sensor system and method

A method of preventing a powered closable member from closing, the closable member supported by a frame comprising:

• determining the location of an object using a proximity sensor, the object not being required to have direct contact with at least one of the closable member and the frame;
• determining the position of the closable member;
• computing the location of the closable member relative to the object;
• determining that the object is within a predetermined range relative to the closable member;
• stopping a closing motor from advancing the closable member.

A power closure sensor system for a vehicle, comprising:

• a data processing device;
• a closer motor in communication with the data processing device and controlling the movement of a closable member on the vehicle relative to a frame for the closable member;
• a capacitive sensor, configured to sense the location of an object, the capacitive sensor in communication with the data processing device, the capacitive sensor enabled to sense the relative location of the object when the object does or does not touch the closable member or the frame;
• a position sensor, configured to sense the position of the closable member, the position sensor in communication with the data processing device;
• and
• a logic program running on the data processing device and configured to generate an estimate of the location of the object relative to the closable member.