Anti-Pinch Motor Control
AssigneeGentherm Incorporated
InventorsPatrick JORDAN, Dusko PETROVSKI, Nigel John Allison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A motor control system configured to detect a pinch condition of a structure actuated by a motor includes a pinch detection module configured to receive a current signal indicative of a motor current, determine a rate of change of current based on the current signal, and generate a pinch signal indicative of the pinch condition in response to either one of the motor current being greater than a current threshold and the rate of change of current being greater than a rate of change threshold. The motor control system further includes a position control module configured to control the motor to actuate the structure in response to an input and at least one of stop and reverse the motor in response to the pinch signal.
Claims20
A motor control system configured to detect a pinch condition of a structure actuated by a motor, the motor control system comprising:
- a pinch detection module configured to receive a current signal indicative of a motor current, determine a rate of change of current based on the current signal, and generate a pinch signal indicative of the pinch condition in response to either one of (i) the motor current being greater than a current threshold and (ii) the rate of change of current being greater than a rate of change threshold;
- and
- a position control module configured to (i) control the motor to actuate the structure in response to an input and (ii) at least one of stop and reverse the motor in response to the pinch signal.
A method of detecting a pinch condition of a structure actuated by a motor, the method comprising:
- receiving a current signal indicative of a motor current;
- determining a rate of change of current based on the current signal;
- generating a pinch signal indicative of the pinch condition in response to either one of (i) the motor current is greater than a current threshold and (ii) the rate of change of current is greater than a rate of change threshold;
- controlling the motor to actuate the structure in response to an input;
- and
- at least one of stopping and reversing the motor in response to the pinch signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.