Motor-vehicle door latch and method of operating same

A method of operating a door latch having

• a latch mechanism including a latch pawl and fork operable to secure a motor-vehicle door relative to a motor-vehicle body;
• a drive element movable about a drive axis between a position corresponding to a closed condition of the vehicle door, a position corresponding to an open condition of the door, and an end reference end position offset from the closed and open positions, the drive element being formed with gear teeth and with a radially projecting arm;
• a rigid link pivoted on the drive element offset from the drive axis and on the latch pawl for actuation of the pawl by the element;
• a fixed abutment engageable with the arm of the element only in the end reference position thereof;
• a reversible electric-motor drive carrying an output gear meshing with the gear teeth of the element and operable to move the element between the closed and open positions and into the end reference position;
• a hall-effect sensor for detecting the current position of the element;
• and
• a controller connected to the sensor for operating the drive,
• the method comprising the steps of:
• after each displacement of the element from one of the open and closed positions to the other of the open and closed positions, displacing the element into the end reference position and initializing the controller while the element is in the end reference position;
• and
• thereafter returning the element to the other of the open and closed positions.