Method for controlling automotive sliding doors

A method for controlling a powered sliding door system including a motor, a control unit for controlling said motor, a sliding door guided along a substantially linear path, and a power transmission unit for converting an output power of said motor to a sliding motion of said door, comprising the steps of:

• defining a schedule of target speed for the sliding motion of said door;
• measuring an actual sliding speed of said door;
• computing a deviation of the actual sliding speed from said target speed;
• and
• adjusting a duty ratio of the drive signal for said motor at a prescribed increment so as to offset said deviation at a timing which depends on the magnitude of said deviation.

A method for controlling a powered sliding door system including a motor, a control unit for controlling said motor, a sliding door guided along a substantially linear path, and a power transmission unit for converting an output power of said motor to a sliding motion of said door, comprising the steps of:

• defining a schedule of target speed for the sliding motion of said door;
• measuring an actual sliding speed of said door;
• computing a deviation of the actual sliding speed from said target speed;
• and
• adjusting a duty ratio of the drive signal for said motor at a prescribed increment so as to offset said deviation at a timing which depends on the position of said door.

A method for detecting an obstacle for a sliding door in a powered sliding door system including a motor, a control unit for controlling said motor according to a schedule of standard speed, a sliding door guided along a substantially linear path, and a power transmission unit for converting an output power of said motor to a sliding motion of said door, comprising the steps of:

• measuring the speed of said motor at a prescribed cycle;
• comparing the speed of said motor at a current cycle with a modified speed of said motor of the previous cycle which is given as a sum of the speed of said motor of a previous cycle and a prescribed tolerance value;
• and
• detecting an obstacle for said door when the speed of said motor at the current cycle continues to be smaller than the modified speed of said motor of the previous cycle for a prescribed number of cycles;
• said tolerance value being adjusted depending on an operating parameter of said powered sliding door system during a course of a sliding motion of said door.