Automatic door operating system

An automatic door operating system for use in a motor vehicle having a vehicle body and a sliding door, comprising:

• a door lock device mounted on said door and including a latch plate having a releasing condition, a half-latch condition and a full-latch condition, said releasing condition being a condition in which said door is released from the vehicle body, said half-latch condition being a condition wherein said door is incompletely latched by said vehicle body and said full-latch condition being a condition wherein said door is fully latched by said vehicle body;
• a door closing device mounted on said door and including an electric motor, and latch plate actuating means operatively connected to said motor, for enforcedly turning said latch plate in a direction toward said full-latch condition when said electric motor is energized to run in a first direction and for allowing said latch plate to be returned in another direction toward said releasing condition when said motor is energized to run in a second direction such that said latch plate actuating means moves toward a rest position;
• a latch plate position detecting switch which detects both the half-latch condition and the full-latch condition of said latch plate;
• a return recognition switch which detects whether said latch plate actuating means of said door closing device is returned to said rest position;
• a control device which, when said latch plate position detecting switch detects the half-latch condition of said latch plate, energizes said motor to run in said first direction, and which, when said latch plate position detecting switch detects the full-latch condition of said latch plate, energizes said motor to run in said second direction, and which, when said return recognition switch detects the latch plate actuating means having returned to said rest position, stops the rotation of said motor in said second direction, said control device starting its control operation when electrically energized;
• a manually operated switch having an ON position and an OFF position for selectively energizing and deenergizing said control device, respectively;
• and
• control means for energizing said motor to run in said second direction for a predetermined time when said manually operated switch is successively moved into OFF and ON positions such that said latch plate is returned to said releasing condition.