`

`UJS. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 1 of 16
`
`5,069,000
`
`FIG.I
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 2
`Page 2
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 2 of 16
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`5,069,000
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 3
`Page 3
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 3 of 16
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`5,069,000
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`
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 4
`Page 4
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`

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`US. Patent
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`5,069,000
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`
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 5
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 5 of 16
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`5,069,000
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`
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 6
`Page 6
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`'Sheet 6 of 16
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`5,069,000
`
`SLS
`
`
`
`I?
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 7
`Page 7
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet ‘7 of 16
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`5,069,000
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`
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 8
`Page 8
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`

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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhib 000000
`Page 9
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 9 of 16
`
`5,069,000
`
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`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 10
`Page 10
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 10 of 16
`
`5,069,000
`
`'56
`
`'FIG.
`
`FIG.15A
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 11
`Page 11
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 11 of 15
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`5,069,000
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`
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 12
`Page 12
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 12 of 16
`
`5,069,000
`
`
`
`FIG. [8
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 13
`Page 13
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 13 of 16
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`5,069,000
`
`
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 14
`Page 14
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3; 1991
`
`Sheet 14 of 16'
`
`5,069,000
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`12m:
`LIVE Pm: POSITION
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`F1
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`103. 193. 108
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`m. 1_1§
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`103
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`119
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`110100
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`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 15
`Page 15
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`c.eD
`
`1991
`
`3",
`
`61f051teehS
`
`OH%0MP0h9X9E6w0oQ:r5B
`
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`ANB
`Page 1696m16
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 3, 1991
`
`Sheet 16 of 16
`
`5,069,000
`
`33.553.BE“:at
`
`BEEat
`
`
`
`tam.ibuuBES
`
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`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 17
`Page 17
`
`
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`

`

`REVERSING APPARATUS FOR POWERED·
`VEHICLE DOOR SYSTEMS
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS
`AND APPLICATIONS
`This invention is related to the inventions disclosed
`and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,887,390; 4,862,640;
`. 4,842,313; and 4,775,178, all of which are assigned to the
`same assignee as the present invention, and the disclo- 10
`sures which are hereby incorporated by reference
`herein. This invention is also related to the inventions
`disclosed and described in related copending applica(cid:173)
`tions for U.S. Patents, entitled "VARYING RADIUS
`HELICAL CABLE SPOOL FOR POWERED VE- 15
`HICLE DOOR SYSTEMS", "CONTROL APPARA(cid:173)
`TUS FOR POWERED VEHICLE DOOR SYS(cid:173)
`TEMS", and "POWERED CLOSING ASSIST
`MECHANISM FOR VEHICLE DOORS OR LID
`MEMBERS", all of which are filed on the same date as 20
`this application·and are assigned to the same assignee as
`the present invention, and the disclosures of which are
`hereby incorporated by reference herein.
`
`BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE
`INVENTION
`This invention relates to a reversing apparatus for ·
`motor-actuated devices for detecting a predetermined
`abnormal load on such devices and for stopping and
`reversing the drive motor in response to the presence of 30
`such abnormal load, such as the presence of an obstruc(cid:173)
`tion:The reversing apparatus is especially applicable to
`powered sliding door operating systems for vehicles
`and, more particularly, to such powered sliding door
`operating systems for van type vehicles having a door 35
`opening in a side wall of the van. In such applications of
`the invention, the sliding door is moved generally paral-
`lel to the van side wall during its initial closing move(cid:173)
`ment and for a major portion of its full closing move(cid:173)
`ment as well as during a major portion of its full opening 40
`movement, including its final opening movement. Typi(cid:173)
`cally, the sliding door moves generally toward and
`generally away from the plane of the door opening
`during a portion of its respective final closing and initial
`opening movements, so as to be flush with the side wall 45
`when fully closed, and so as to be alongside of, and
`parallel to, the side wall, generally rear of the door
`opening, when fully opened.
`In sliding door systems of the type mentioned above,
`upper and lower forward guide rails are attached to the 50
`top and bottom portions, respectively, of the door open(cid:173)
`ing, and a rear guide rail is attached to the exterior of
`the side wall, at an elevation approximately midway
`between the elevation of the upper and lower forward
`guide rails. The respective forward end portions of the 55
`various guide rails are curved inwardly of the body of
`the van, and bracket and roller assemblies are fastened
`to the respective upper and lower forward ends of the
`sliding door, as well as to an intermediate position at the
`rear end of the sliding door. Such bracket and roller 60
`assemblies are slidingly supported in the guide rails to
`guide the door through its opening and closing move(cid:173)
`ments.
`Various portions of the opening and closing move(cid:173)
`ments of van sliding doors have different power re- 65
`quirements. Thus, the initial door closing movement
`and a major portion of the subsequent door closing
`movement are high displacement/low force transla-
`
`1
`
`5,069,000
`
`2
`tiona! movements, during which little force is required
`to achieve large door movements since only frictional
`resistance and grade-caused gravity resistances must be
`overcome. Similarly, the final opening movement and a
`5 major portion of the preceding opening movement are
`also high displacement/low force translational move(cid:173)
`ments for the same reasons. In contrast however, a
`portion of the final closing movement of the door is a
`low displacement/high force movement. This is be(cid:173)
`cause during final closing, an elastomeric weather seal
`surrounding the door opening must be compressed, and
`an unlatched latch bolt on the door must engage and be
`rotated to a latched position by a striker pin at the rear
`of the van body door opening. During manual opera(cid:173)
`tion, sliding van doors are typically moved with great
`momentum through their entire closing movements in
`order to assure full weather strip compression and latch
`bolt operation at the end of such movement.
`Various powered van door systems have been devel-
`oped in the past, including those described in the above(cid:173)
`mentioned related U.S. patents. Another such system is
`illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,729, issued to Sato. In
`the Sato patent, a motor driven pinion carried by the
`25 lower front .bracket and roller assembly of the door
`~ooperates with a rack gear carried by the lower front
`guide r.ail. ·in the door opening to move the door be(cid:173)
`tween .its fully open and fully closed positions. In this
`arrangement, as in the case of the manual door opera-
`tion discussed above, a high momentum is still required
`during the entire closing movement.
`to
`issued
`Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,757,
`Kagiyama et al, and U.S. Pat. No 4,640,050, issued to
`Yamagishi et al also represents additional examples of
`powered van door systems. The systems employ cable
`drives coupled to the lower front bracket and roller
`assemblies of the doors for opening and closing move-
`ments However, these systems also rely on high mo(cid:173)
`mentum during the entire closing movement.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,185 issued to Shibuki et al de(cid:173)
`scribes still another powered van door system. In this
`system, a friction wheel engages the bottom portion of
`the door and drives the door through t4e major por-.
`tions of its opening and closing movements·parallel to
`the side wall of the van. Turntable arms are pivotably
`connected end-to-end between the friction wheel and
`the floor of the door opening and draws the rear of the
`door inwardly to compress the weather strip, While this
`prior art design appears to operate with lower momen(cid:173)
`tum forces during closing movement than those dis(cid:173)
`cussed above, it requires a complicated, costly mecha~
`nism that is difficult to install and difficult to repair in
`the event of a breakdown. Moreover, retrofiting this
`mechanism to a vehicle not originally equipped with a
`powered door system would be inordinately difficult.
`In addition to the foregoing prior art systems, fmal
`closing devices or clamping mechanisms for powering
`the fmal, low-displacement/high-force movement of
`sliding van doors have been developed by the assignee
`of the present invention and are described in the above(cid:173)
`mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,178 and 4,842,313, the
`disclosures of which are incorporated by reference
`herein. In each of these systems, the door includes a
`latch bolt member moveable between latched and un(cid:173)
`latched positions, as well as a handle or a lock member
`movable between open and closed positions. The fmal
`closing device or clamping mechanisms each includes a
`striker support plate mounted on the vehicle body at the
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 18
`
`

`

`5,069,000
`
`4
`3
`moving member in other powered actuating devices,
`rear of the door opening for rotational movement about
`such as powered vehicle windows, for example, and
`a perpendicular axis, a striker pin projecting from the
`striker support plate at a position offset from the axis,
`then stopping and/or reversing such motion in order to
`prevent damage to -the obstruction, to the moving door
`and means carried by the vehicle body for rotating the
`striker support plate. The striker pin is movable be- 5 or other member, or to the powered actuating equip-
`tween extended and retracted positions so that when the
`ment.
`striker pin is engaged by the latch member bolt the
`Still another related object of the invention is to ac-
`striker support plate is rotated, and the sliding door is
`complish the above-mentioned obstruction detection
`moved between a partially open position away from the
`and motion reversing within a predetermined, accept-
`door opening and a fully closed position. In addition to 10 able time, within a predetermined obstruction resistance
`disclosing
`the . foregoing structure, U.S. Pat. No
`force when the moving door or member is disposed
`4,842,313 also discloses a crashworthiness feature that
`within a predetermined range of angular positions (such·
`adds a pawl and ratchet mechanism to prevent the
`as those resulting from a vehicle situated on an up-
`striker support plate from being reversely rotated in
`wardly or downwardly inclined grade), and within a
`response to high door opening forces from the inside of 15 predetermined temperature range likely to be encoun-
`the vehicle.
`tered by the powered vehicle door system or other
`Although U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,178 and 4,842,313
`powered actuating system.
`illustrate excellent fmal closing systems for sliding van
`In accordance with one exemplary embodiment or
`doors, they do not include provisions for powering van
`application of the invention, a powered door operator
`doors through the major portions of opening and clos- 20 system is provided for a door slidingly supported rela-
`ing movements, nor do they include provisions for pow-
`tive to a door opening in a side panel of a vehicle body.
`ering van doors during late closing movements to the
`The door is supported adjacent its forward end by at
`point where the latch bolt mechanisms engage with, and
`least one forward bracket that is slidable in a forward
`close about, the striker pins of the clamping mecha-
`guide member and adjacent its rear end by a rear
`nisms.
`25 bracket that is slidable in a rear guide member. The
`Improved powered sliding door operator systems for
`guide members guide the door (i) through an initial
`van type vehicles are disclosed in the above-mentioned
`closing movement generally parallel to the side panel
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,640, with the disclosed systems
`(ii) through a final opening movement generally parallel
`having provisions (i) for powering sliding van doors
`to the side panel, (iii) through at least a portion of its
`through the major portions of opening and closing 30 final closing movement generally toward the plane of
`movements, (ii) for powering sliding van doors during
`the door opening, and (iv) through at least a portion of
`late closing movements to engage the latch bolt mecha-
`its initial opening movement generally away from the
`nisms with the striker pins, and (iii) for finally clamping
`plane of the door opening. The door operator system
`sliding van doors to a fully closed position. In such
`includes cable members coupled to the forward and rear
`patent the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated 35 ends of the door for driving the door along the guide
`by reference, the door is supported adjacent its forward
`members to thereby move the door through its initial
`end by forward brackets slidable in upper and lower
`and final opening and closing movements, substantially
`forward guide members carried by the vehicle body,
`without the need for cable spool assembly tensioning
`and is supported adjacent its rear end by a rear bracket
`mechanisms.
`slidable in a mid-level rear guide member carried on the 40 An improved cable spool arrangement is provided in
`outside of the vehicle side panel. Motor driven cable
`such exemplary application of the invention for a cable-
`members are attached to the rear bracket and supported
`actuated device, such as for a powered van door system,
`adjacent opposite ends of the rear guide member and
`for example, having a drive mechanism for selectively
`are employed to move the door through its opening
`rotating the cable spool about an axis in either direction
`movement through its initial closing movement, and 45 and one or more cables each having one end intercon-
`through an initial portion of its final closing movement.
`nected with a movable member, such as a sliding door.
`The fmal portion of its closing movement is accom-
`The cable spool includes a cable attachment arrange-
`plished using a final clamping mechanism of the type
`ment for securing the opposite end or ends of the cable
`disclosed
`in
`the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No.
`or cables to the cable spool. A groove, slot, or other
`4,842,313.
`50 open channel-like opening is formed along a generally
`It is therefore, a primary object of the present inven-
`helical path on. a circumferential portion of the cable
`tion to provide an improved powered sliding door oper-
`spool. The groove is adapted for windingly receiving or
`ator system for van type vehicles in which the sliding
`taking up at least one of the cables therein as the cable
`door is moved with low momentum between its fully
`spool is rotated in one direction, and for unwindingly
`open position and its nearly closed position, and which 55 releasing or paying out at least one of the cables there-
`completely closes the sliding door in a slow controlled
`from as the cable spool is rotated in the opposite direc-
`tion. The helical configuration of the cable spool
`manner.
`Another object of this invention is to provide an
`groove eliminates the undesirable constantly changing
`improved powered sliding door operator system in
`effective spool radius that results from cable wrap-up or
`which the manual effort required to open and close the 60 stacking on cable spools having one or more circular or
`sliding door is substantially reduced, in which near-nor-
`non-helical· grooves. Thus, the cable take-up and pay-
`mal manual operation of the sliding door is preserved in
`out rates relative to cable spool rotation, can be more
`the event of a failure of the powered system, and in
`closely defined and controlled.
`which the powered system can be actuated from either
`In addition, in the preferred cable spool in such exem-
`the vehicle driver's seat or the door itself.
`65 plary application, the radial depth (and thus the wrap-
`A primary object of the present invention is to pro-
`up and pay-out radius) of the helical groove varies
`vide a mechanism or system capable of detecting an
`along at least a portion of the helical path in order to
`obstruction encountered by a moving door, or other
`cause at least one of the cables to be wound onto, and
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 19
`
`

`

`5,069,000
`
`5
`6
`bracket and roller assembly carried at the rear end of
`paid out from, the varying-depth portion of the helical
`the door.
`groove at a correspondingly varying rate with respect
`FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the interior of the van,
`to cable spool rotation. This effect can be used to cause
`similar to that of FIG. 6, but viewed from a different
`movement of at least a portion of the sliding door, or
`other such movable member, at a correspondingly vary- 5 point inside the vehicle and showing the door in a par-
`ing rate with respect to cable spool rotation. If desired
`tially open position.
`in a given application, the cable spool ~an have a gener-
`FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view, illustrating
`ally constant radial depth of the helical groove along
`one preferred embodiment of a cable spool assembly
`second portion of the helical path in order to cause at
`according to the present invention.
`least one of the cables to be wound onto, and paid out 10
`FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cable spool and
`from, the constant-depth portion of the helical groove
`portions of associated cables of FIG. 9.
`at a generally constant rate with respect to cable spool
`FIG. 11 is a top view of the cable spool, and portions·
`rotation. This effect can be used to cause movement of
`of associated cables of FIGS. 9 and 10.
`FIG. 12 is a radi~lly-cut, cross-sectional view of the
`at least a portion of the sliding door or other movable
`member, at a ge.nerally constant rate with respect to 15 cable spool of FIGS. 9 through 11.
`cable spool rotat10~.
`.
`.
`.
`FIG. 13 is a plot of effective groove radius versus
`In accordance With the present mvent10n, a reversmg
`angular position of one preferred exemplary cable spool
`apparat~s is provided for detecting the presence of an
`of FIGS. 9 through 12.
`obstructmn encountered by the mo~able door, or other
`FIG. 14 is a sectional view, taken along the line
`movable _member such as a power wmdow, ~or ex~pl~, 20 14-14 of FIG. 8, showing the locations of push button
`and causmg a stol?page and/or reversal oftts motiOn m
`switches used in controlling the operation of the sliding
`~rder to substantially prevent damage to the obstruc-
`door in one form of the powered door system.
`tion, the do?r or other movable member, or the pow-
`FIGS .. 15A and 15B are fragmentary perspective
`ered act~atm~ system. The revers.al apparatus u_ses
`views of a limit switch arrangement in the upper for-
`chan.ge~ m dnve motor currents dunng .door actuation 25 ward guide of the sliding door which is actuated and
`that mdtcate the presence of an obstruction by compar-
`d
`t
`t d
`h
`th d
`' h
`·
`d t
`· d
`eac ua e w en
`e oor reac es a pre e enmne
`·
`h
`·
`· h
`fi
`mg t e mstantaneous motor current w1t a re erence
`. t
`d' t
`d
`.
`·
`t b
`·t
`.
`·
`etween 1 s
`c.urr~nt that is ~veraged over a predete:mined short
`erme Ia e pomt unng :t~ movemen
`m
`1
`fu ly opene.d and closed pos tions..
`.
`time mterval This feature makes the reversmg apparatus
`FIG. l61s an exploded ~erspectiVe ~1ew of one form
`independent of the normally varying drive motor cur- 30
`of a fmal closure or clam~~g mecharus~ employed to
`rent, with such normal variance resulting from the
`mo~7 the nearly closed shdmg door to 1ts fully closed
`changes in the types of door closing movements de-
`scribed above. Thus, the reversing apparatus properly
`posltmn.
`.
`.
`FIGS. 17, 18, and 19. are .enlarged sectiOnal vte~s,
`senses or detects the presence of an obstruction even for
`van-type sliding doors or other movable powered- 35 taken throng? a mechants~ m FIG. 16 for pre~ludmg
`reverse rc:tahon of the stnk~r plate, and showmg the
`actuated members, that undergo varying or complex
`relatiOnship of a pa~l to ~ ~~le. tooth ratchet ~~eel
`movements, or changing relationships between travel
`speed and force at various stages of their operation, and
`~h~reof when the s~r~er pm IS m 1ts e~tended pos1t10n,
`that draw different amounts of drive motor current
`m 1ts retracted position, and between Its retrac-ted and
`when disposed in different angular, or grade-caused, 40 extended positions, respectively..
`.
`.
`FIGS. 20, 21, and 22 are. dtagrammatlc elevatiOn .
`orientations.
`Additional objects, advantages, and features of the
`views, taken through. a latch b':lt mechanism of the
`present invention will become apparent from the fol-
`door ~nd the final.clos~g mechamsm on the door frame
`lowing description and appended claims, taken in con-
`sh<;>wmg _the relatmnsh1p of th~ latch bolt me~ber and
`junction with the accompanying drawings.
`45 striker pm to the weather stnp on the veh1cle body
`during various respective stages of door closing.
`·
`FIG. 23 is a schematic circuit diagram of an electrical
`system that may be employed in controlling the opera(cid:173)
`tion of the powered sliding door operating system.
`FIG. 24 is a schematic circuit diagram of an electrical
`door reversing apparatus for causing the closing door to
`stop and reverse to an opening movement when the
`apparatus detects the presence of an obstruction.
`FIG. 25 is a typical plot of drive motor current versus
`55 time during a door closing operation.
`
`so
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away
`for clarity, of a van-type vehicle having a powered
`sliding door operating system in accordance with the
`present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with parts broken
`away for clarity, showing the sliding door of the van in
`a partially open position.
`FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are each diagrammatic views, illus(cid:173)
`trating the path of movement followed by the sliding
`door relative to its supporting guide rails during closing
`of the door.
`FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the inte(cid:173)
`rior of the van shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with parts bro- 60
`ken away for clarity, illustrating an embodiment ofthe
`invention in which a cable or cables are coupled to the
`forward end of the sliding door and to the rear end of
`the sliding door, and are actuated by an improved cable
`spool assembly according to the. invention.
`FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of a
`portion of the system illustrated in FIG. 6 showing the
`preferred manner in which a cable is fastened to a rear
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`FIGS. 1 through 25 show one preferred embodiment
`of the present invention, as applied to a powered door
`operating system for a vehicle sliding door, for purposes
`of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily
`recognize from the following discussion that the princi(cid:173)
`ples of the present invention are equally applicable to
`65 powered door operating systems for applications other
`than the vehicular application illustrated in the draw(cid:173)
`ings, as well as to non-door or non-vehicular cable(cid:173)
`actuated devices having one or more actuating cables.
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 20
`
`

`

`5,069,000
`
`8
`7
`rollers 30 of the rear bracket and roller assembly 26
`In FIGS. 1 through 8, a van type of vehicle 10 is
`move through the inwardly-curved, forward end por-
`illustrated, and a powered door operator and door oper-
`ating system according to the invention is used to open
`tion of the guide member 31, the final closing movement
`of the door 12 is accompanied by movement of the rear
`and close a sliding door 12. The sliding door 12 is sup-
`ported on the body of the van 10 at three points. The 5 portion of the door into the door opening 19, as shown
`first point of support includes a forward upper bracket
`in FIG. 5.
`and roller assembly shown generally at reference nu-
`In FIGS. 6 through 13, a powered door operator or
`meral14 (FIGS. 2 and 8), which in turn includes an arm
`drive assembly 235 is shown and moves the sliding door
`15 one en~ of which is fastened to the upper forward
`12 through its initial and final opening and closing
`end of door 12, and the other end of which carries one 10 movements. The door operator 235 includes a cable
`or more rollers 16 on its upper surface. A number of
`spool drive motor 202M interconnected with a mount-
`rollers 16 engage and ride in a curved upper forward
`ing bracket 244, which is attached to the inside of the'
`guide rail or guide member 17 is fixedly carried on the
`side wall 20 by way of one or more mounting tabs 36.
`lower surface of a vehicle body member 18, which When selectively energized, the motor 202M driving
`surrounds a door opening 19 formed in a side wall 20 of 15 rotates a drive pulley or cable spool 238, through a
`the van 10.
`clutch mechanism (not shown) coupled to the motor's
`The second point of attachment comprises a forward
`gearing and output shaft (not shown). When the clutch
`lower bracket and roller assembly, shown generally at
`mechanism is de-energized, or in an electrical system
`reference numeral 21, which includes an arm 22 having
`failure, the motor 202M and its associated gearing are
`one end fixedly attached to the lower forward end of 20 disengaged from the cable spool 238, thus allowing
`the door 12 and one or more rollers 23 carried at the
`manual operation of· the door 12. Optionally an un-
`other end. The rollers 23 engage and ride in a curved
`clutched, high efficiency, back-driveable spur gear
`lower forward guide rail or guide member 24 attached
`drive mechanism (not shown) may be employed with
`to a vehicle body member 25, which surrounds the
`the motor 202M to rotate the cable spool 238, while still
`lower portion of the door opening 19.
`25 allowing for manual operation of the door.
`The third point of attachment includes a rear mid-
`A lower flexible sheath or conduit 40 extends from a
`level, bracket and roller assembly shown generally at
`clamp 249 adjacent the cable spool 238 to a clamp mem-
`reference numeral 26, which includes an arm 27 (FIG.
`ber 149 attached to the lower portion of the inside wall
`7), with one end of the arm 27 being fixedly attached to
`45 of the van 10, generally adjacent the forward end of
`the rear end of the door 12 pivotally attached at the 30 the wheel well, and securely retains the forward end of
`other end 28 to one end of a link 29. The other end of
`the flexible sheath 40. The sheath 40 protects and guides
`the link 29 carries a plurality of rollers 30. The rollers 30
`a lower cable member 41 extending around the wheel
`engage and ride in a curved rear guide rail or member
`well between the cable spool 238 and an idler pulley
`31 that is carried on the outside of the side wall 20, at an
`152. One end of the cable member 41 is anchored on the
`intermediate level, approximately midway between the 35 cable spool 238, as shown in FIGS. 10 through 12,
`levels of the upper and lower guide rails 17 and 24,
`preferably by way of an enlarged cable retainer member
`respectively. The guide members 17, 24, and 31 curve
`321 which is received and anchored in an opening 313
`adjacent their forward ends toward the inside of the van
`formed in a flange 311 of the cable spool238. The open-
`ing 313 communicates with a series of helical grooves
`tO.
`316 and 312, by way of a slot 314 which allows the cable
`The above-discussed three points of support allow 40
`41 to be wound onto a groove portion 312. The other
`the slide door 12 to be slidably moved forwardly and
`rearwardly along the guide members 17, 24, and 31,
`end of cable member 41 passes around an idler pulley
`152, and then proceeds through the lower guide mem(cid:173)
`with the door 12 being guided by the guide members 17,
`ber 24, over a wear strip 46 in the guide member 24, to
`24, and 31, through initial closing and final opening
`an anchor point (not shown) on the forward lower
`movements that are generally parallel to the side wall 45
`20 of the van 10, as shown in FIG. 3, and through final
`bracket or arm 22 of the door 12, genenilly adjacent to
`closing and initial opening movements that are gener(cid:173)
`roller 23.
`ally toward and generally away, respectively, from the
`An upper flexible sheath or conduit 43 extends from
`plane of the door opening 14, as shown in FIGS. 4 and
`the clamp 249 adjacent the cable spool 238 to a clamp
`s.
`50 148 attached to a mid-level location on the inside wall ·
`45 of the van 10, generally adjacent the rear edge of
`door 12, at a vertical height generally corresponding to
`the height of the rear guide member 31. The clamp 148
`securely holds the forward end of flexible sheath 43 to
`the wall 45 and protects and guides an upper cable
`member 42 as the cable member extends along the inside
`wall of the van 10, between the cable spool 238 and an
`idler pulley 48 about which it extends. One end (not
`shown) of the cable member 42 is anchored on the cable
`spool 238 in the same manner as described above in
`connection with the cable member 41. The cable mem-
`ber 42 then passes through the sheath 43, around the
`idler pulley 48, over a wear strip 47 at the forward end
`of the rear guide member 31, and along the rear guide
`member 31 (FIG. 7), through a grommeted opening 49
`in the link 29 of the rear bracket and roller assembly 26,
`with its other end anchored on the link 29 by a number
`screw clamps 7, 8, and 9, for example.
`
`Referring to FIG. 3, when the door 12 is opened fully
`to the left, or rear, relative to the guide members 17 24,
`and 31 the rollers 16, 23, and 30 are at the rear ends of
`their respective guide members 17, 24, and 31. When
`the door 12 is then moved to the right, or forward, its 55
`initial closing movement relative to the side wall 20 is
`essentially parallel to the side wall 20 for most of its
`traversing movement towards the door opening 19. As
`the door approaches the right hand ends of the various
`guide members 17, 24, and 31 the curved portions of the 60
`guide members 17 and 24 are initially encountered by
`the corresponding rollers 16 and 23 so that the forward
`end of the door 12 moves inwardly toward the door
`opening 19 before the rear end of the door 12 starts
`moving inwardly. Thus, the forward end of the door 12 65
`engages the weather strip in the door frame before the
`rear end of the door 12, causing a pivoting action, as
`may be seen by comparing FIG. 4 with FIG. 5. As the
`
`BNA/Brose Exhibit 1009
`Page 21
`
`

`

`5,069,000
`
`10
`9
`As shown primarily in FIGS. 10 through 12, the· was derived empirically by measuring the position of
`cable spool 238 has an open, generally channel-shaped
`the door 12 and each of the drive cables 41 and 42 at
`opening or groove, indicated by reference numerals 312
`various stages of the door operation, moving the door in
`and 316, formed along a generally helical path on its
`very small increments for each measurement. The em-
`outer circumferential edge. In contrast to the circular, 5 pirical data was then fitted to a sixth-order polynomial
`or non-helical, groove configuration found on conven-
`equation and appropriate derivatives were taken to
`tional drive pulleys, such as that shown in the above-
`determine cable travel speed and acceleration equations
`mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,640, the helical groove
`in order to determine the proper parameters to be used
`configuration of the cable spool 238 avoids the "wrap-
`in programming numerically-controlled machining
`up" or "stacking" of the cables 41 and 42 within such a 10 equipment. As a result, the relationships depiCted in
`FIG. 13 are only exemplary, and are shown for pur-
`non-helical pulley slot, which undesirably results in an
`effective wrap radius that varies with rotation of the
`poses of illustration only. One skilled in the art will now·
`drive pulley in a manner that causes one of the cables 41
`readily recognize that other similarly ascertainable rela-
`or 42 to be taken up, or paid out, at a rate that is incon-
`tionships will be required for other powered door appli-
`sistent with the pay-out