Closure system testing apparatus

In a vehicle closure testing apparatus for opening and closing a vehicle door of a vehicle under test, the vehicle door having a surface and an axis of rotation, said apparatus including a supporting structure adapted to be positioned adjacent to the vehicle under test such that said supporting structure is in a spaced relationship to the surface of the vehicle door and is disposed in an operative position relative to the vehicle under test during a testing of the vehicle door, a door moving mechanism movably disposed on said supporting structure at a position on said supporting structure that enables said door moving mechanism to engage an area of contact on the surface of the vehicle door having the axis of rotation when said supporting structure is in said operative position, said door moving mechanism being constructed and arranged to move in a first direction and in a second direction counter to said first direction such that said door moving mechanism can engage the area of contact on the surface of the vehicle door and move the vehicle door in an opening direction and a closing direction, an electric actuator having an extensible member operatively associated with said door moving mechanism, said electric actuator being constructed and arranged to activate said door moving mechanism by extending and retracting said extensible member to cause said door moving mechanism to engage and move the vehicle door in the opening direction and the closing direction, and an electric actuator controller communicating with said electric actuator so as to transfer a control signal to said electric actuator and to receive a feedback signal indicative of door movements during the movement of said door moving mechanism such that said electric actuator controller can control said electric actuator to obtain a desired velocity profile in the movement of the vehicle door by said door moving mechanism, the improvement which comprises:

• a programmable logic controller communicating with said electric actuator controller, said programmable logic controller having an input for receiving said feedback signal from said electric actuator indicative of said door movements and an output for transferring said control signal from said programmable logic controller to said electric actuator controller such that said electric actuator controller can control said electric actuator to obtain the desired velocity profile in the movement of the vehicle door by said door moving mechanism;
• a positional sensor associated with said electric actuator, said positional sensor being adapted to detect a degree of extension of said extensible member of said electric actuator and to output said feedback signal as a positional feedback signal indicative of the degree of extension of said extensible member,
• wherein said programmable logic controller determines a velocity of the vehicle door based upon said positional feedback signal, and wherein said programmable logic controller responsively adjusts said control signal based upon said positional feedback signal from said positional sensor to control said electric actuator to obtain the desired velocity profile.