Closure latch assembly with power reset circuit mechanism and method for reset
AssigneeMagna Closures Inc.
InventorsKasper PILESTED, Kris TOMASZEWSKI
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a closure latch assembly for a vehicle door, and more particularly to a closure latch assembly for a vehicle door equipped with a powered reset feature. To this end, the present disclosure relates to the use of a power actuator to actuate an actuatable mechanism in a power-on state, and an electronic reset circuit mechanism to reset the actuatable mechanism when the power actuator is in a power-off state. The electronic reset circuit mechanism is coupled to an electric motor associated with the power actuator.
Claims20
An electronic reset system of a closure latch assembly comprising:
- an electric motor having a motor shaft driven in one of an actuation direction and a reset direction opposite the actuation direction for moving an actuatable mechanism between an actuated and a non-actuated state;
- an energy storage device operatively coupled to the electric motor and configured to operate in an energy storing state to store electrical energy and in an energy discharge state to discharge the electrical energy;
- and
- a controller coupled to the electric motor and the energy storage device, the controller configured to control the electric motor in a power-on state to drive the motor shaft in the actuation direction from a first position to a second position for causing the actuatable mechanism to shift from its non-actuated state into its actuated state.
A closure latch assembly for a closure panel of a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a latch mechanism operable in a first state to locate the closure panel in a first position and in a second state to locate the closure panel in a second position;
- a power actuator including an actuatable mechanism being operable in a non-actuated state to permit the latch mechanism to operate in its first state and in an actuated state to shift the latch mechanism from its first state into its second state;
- the power actuator including an electric motor having a rotary motor shaft driven in an actuation direction for causing the actuatable mechanism to shift from its non-actuated state into its actuated state and an electronic reset circuit mechanism having an energy storage device operatively coupled to the electric motor and configured to operate in an energy storing state to store electrical energy supplied to the electric motor in the energy storage device and in an energy discharge state to discharge the electrical energy from the energy storage device into the electric motor in an opposite polarity direction for causing the electric motor to rotate the rotary motor shaft in a reset direction so as to reset the actuatable mechanism in its non-actuated state for providing a powered reset function.
A method of operating a power actuator for a closure latch assembly including an electric motor and an electronic reset circuit mechanism including an energy storage device coupled in parallel with the electric motor, comprising the steps of:
- supplying energy to an electric motor to rotate a rotary motor shaft of the electric motor in an actuation direction using a controlling circuit coupled to the electric motor;
- capturing and storing electric energy supplied to the electric motor in the energy storage device in response to the controlling circuit being coupled to the electric motor and rotating the rotary motor shaft in the actuation direction from a first position to a second position using the electronic reset circuit mechanism;
- and
- discharging the electrical energy from the energy storage device into the electric motor in an opposite polarity direction and causing the electric motor to rotate the rotary motor shaft in a reset direction opposite the actuation direction from the second position back to the first position in response to the rotary motor shaft being in the second position and the controlling circuit being decoupled from the electric motor using the electronic reset circuit mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.