# US 2013/0239485 A1 · Vehicle door swing governor

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- Number: US 2013/0239485 A1
- Document ID: US20130239485A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/418,443
- Filed: 2012-03-13
- Published: 2013-09-19
- Earliest claimed: 2012-03-13
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Eric L. Reed; Karl William Wojcik
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130239485A1

## CPC

- E05F 5/025: {specially adapted for vehicle doors}
- E05F: DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING

## Abstract

A vehicle door swing governor is positioned between a door and a body of a vehicle. The door swing governor includes a motor and a controller for controlling the mechanical resistance applied by the motor to the door so as to control velocity of the door swing. The mechanical resistance applied to the door is a function of the velocity of the swing of the door.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle door swing governor positioned between a door and a body of a vehicle, the governor comprising:
a motor operatively coupled to the door; and
a controller for controlling the mechanical resistance applied by the motor to the door to control velocity of door swing, wherein the mechanical resistance applied to the door is a function of the velocity of the swing of the door.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The door swing governor of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a transistor for applying a load through the motor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The door swing governor of claim 1, wherein the motor is a direct-current motor that functions as a generator with a variable load.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The door swing governor of claim 3, wherein manually induced swing of the door causes the generator to spin in a first direction and generate a voltage, and the controller detects the resultant voltage created by the generator.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The door swing governor of claim 4, wherein the voltage created by the generator is a function of the velocity of the door swing.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The door swing governor of claim 4, wherein a transistor controls the current through the motor in response to the voltage created by the generator.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The door swing governor of claim 6, wherein the applied load causes the motor to generate a force in an opposite second direction, thereby applying mechanical resistance to the door and decreasing the velocity of the swing of the door.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The door swing governor of claim 1, wherein the greater the manually induced swing velocity of the door, the greater the mechanical resistance applied to the door by the motor, such that the door swing governor is self-limiting.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The door swing governor of claim 1, further comprising a sensor for sensing the velocity of the swing of the door.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The door swing governor of claim 9, wherein the transistor conducts current to the motor in response to the velocity of door swing as sensed by the sensor.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The door swing governor of claim 9, wherein the sensor comprises the motor.

### Claim 12

A vehicle door assembly comprising:
a vehicle door;
a door swing governor positioned between the door and a body of the vehicle, the governor comprising:
a motor operably coupled to the door; and
a controller for controlling the mechanical resistance applied by the motor to the door to control velocity of door swing, wherein the mechanical resistance applied to the door is a function of the velocity of the door swing.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The door assembly of claim 12, wherein the controller comprises a transistor for applying a load through the motor.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The door assembly of claim 12, wherein the motor is a direct-current motor that functions as a generator with a variable load.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The door assembly of claim 14, wherein manually induced swing of the door causes the generator to spin in a first direction and generate a voltage, and the controller detects the resultant voltage created by the generator.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The door assembly of claim 15, wherein the voltage created by the generator is a function of the velocity of the door swing.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The door assembly of claim 15, wherein a transistor controls the current through the motor in response to the voltage created by the generator.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The door assembly of claim 17, wherein the applied load causes the motor to generate a force in an opposite second direction, thereby applying mechanical resistance to the door and decreasing the velocity of the swing of the door.

### Claim 19 (depends on 12)

The door assembly of claim 12, wherein the greater the manually induced swing of the door, the greater the mechanical resistance applied to the door by the motor, such that the door swing governor is self-limiting.

### Claim 20

A method of controlling velocity of swing of a vehicle door comprising:
sensing door swing velocity using a motor operating as a generator when the motor spins in a first direction; and
applying an electrical load to the motor in response to the sensed velocity, causing the motor to generate a force in a second direction, thereby controlling the mechanical resistance applied by the motor to the door to control the velocity of the door.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein the mechanical resistance applied by the motor to the door is a function of the velocity of the swing of the door.