Power window or panel controller

Claim 2

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor-driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; and e) said motor driven element comprising a window and the memory comprising memory means to store a multiplicity of predetermined desired measurement values for a fixed size threshold parameter range.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 where said memory comprises memory means to store and/or generate desired measurement values for a multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges where: a) said multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges have been determined from a combination of said measured values from past and/or present motions of said device; and b) said multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges generally correspond to said multiplicity of measured values in terms of relationship to said motion.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2 where the determination of threshold parameter ranges uses a combination of past and present differences between desired and actual measurement values comprising: a) an estimation related to the standard deviation or variability of the distribution of the differences between the desired and actual measurement values; b) multiplication of said estimation by a predetermined upper and/or lower scale factor to produce the parameter ranges; and c) comparison of said produced parameter ranges to predetermined extreme values and adjustment of said produced parameter ranges not to exceed said predetermined extreme values.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising apparatus and circuitry for sensing closure of said motor driven element.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 1 where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 5 where said measured values are low pass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 1, where the presence of an abnormality such as an obstruction is inferred by the controller when a predetermined number "g" of consecutive measurements of said parameter fall outside said respective threshold parameter range for said measurements where "g" can be one or greater than one.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 1 where the presence of an abnormality such as an obstruction is inferred by the controller when a first number "g" of consecutive measurements of said parameter fall outside a first desirable threshold parameter range for said measurements and/or when a second number "r" of consecutive measurements of said parameter fall outside a second desirable threshold parameter range for said measurements where "g" and/or "r" can be one or greater than one.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: an electrically operated brake and circuitry for actuating said brake in response to detection of said undesirable resistance.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parameter is current in an electric motor coupled for moving said motor driven element, said current being measured at intervals of a position of the motor driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parameter is current in an electric motor coupled to said motor driven element for moving said motor driven element, said current being measured at intervals of time from commencement of motion of the motor driven element.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parameter is current in an electric motor coupled to said motor driven element for moving said motor driven element, said current being measured at intervals of speed of said motion of the motor driven element.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parameter is speed of said motion of the motor driven element and is measured at intervals of a position of the motor driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parameter is speed of said motion of the motor driven element and is measured at intervals of time from commencement of motion of the motor driven element.

Claim 16

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from Past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are high pass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 17

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from Past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are high pass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 18

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are bandpass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 19

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are bandpass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 20

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are matches filtered by the processor before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values where said matches filter has an emphasized response to an undesired motor load profile variation.

Claim 21

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said measured values are matches filtered by the processor before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values where said matches filter has an emphasized response to an undesired motor load profile variation.

Claim 22

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said first number "g" of consecutive measurements and said second number "r" of consecutive measurements are processed by first and second filters to produce a first and second set of filtered measurements where: a) said first and second sets of filtered measurements are processed with past filtered measurements to produce a first and second set of desired filtered measurements; b) first and second sets of threshold parameter ranges for said first and second sets of filtered measurements are stored or generated; and c) said first and second sets of filtered measurements are compared to said first and second sets of desired filtered measurements, respectively, to determine if part of said first or second sets of filtered measurements fall outside of said first or second sets of threshold parameter ranges, respectively.

Claim 23

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the power driven element, the sensor taking a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether a subsequently measured parameter value falls outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired measurement values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion, values of the threshold parameter range varying with a position of the motor driven element over said range of motion or an elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element or a speed of movement of the motor driven element over said range of motion, the threshold parameter range values being determined for a selected one of: 1) a multiplicity of positions of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given position of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given position of the motor driven element; 2) a multiplicity of elapsed times of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion of the motor driven element, a threshold parameter range value for a given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element from commencement of motion being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given elapsed time of movement of the motor driven element; and 3) a multiplicity of speeds of movement of the power driven element over at least a portion of said range of motion, a threshold parameter range value for a given speed of the motor driven element being based on desired measurement values stored in memory corresponding to the given speed of the motor driven element; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; and f) where said first number "g" of consecutive measurements and said second number "r" of consecutive measurements are processed by first and second filters to produce a first and second set of filtered measurements where: a) said first and second sets of filtered measurements are processed with past filtered measurements to produce a first and second set of desired filtered measurements; b) first and second sets of threshold parameter ranges for said first and second sets of filtered measurements are stored or generated; and c) said first and second sets of filtered measurements are compared to said first and second sets of desired filtered measurements, respectively, to determine if part of said first or second sets of filtered measurements fall outside of said first or second sets of threshold parameter ranges, respectively.

Claim 26

The method of claim 19 wherein a multiplicity of discrete measurements of the parameter are taken as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion.

Claim 27

The method of claim 20 where said memory for storing desired measurement values stores a multiplicity of predetermined fixed parameter values that generally correspond to said multiplicity of discrete measurements.

Claim 28

The method of claim 20 where said memory for storing desired measurement values stores and/or generates said multiplicity of desired measurement values based on a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said device.

Claim 29

The method claim 19 where said motor driven element comprises a window and wherein the memory stores a multiplicity of predetermined desired measurement values for a given size threshold range.

Claim 30

The method of claim 19 where the determination of threshold windows uses a combination of past and present differences between desired and actual measurement values comprising: a) an estimation related to the standard deviation or variability of the distribution of the differences between the desired and actual measurement values; b) multiplication of said estimation by a predetermined upper and/or lower scale factor to produce the threshold ranges; and c) comparison of said produced threshold ranges to predetermined extreme values and adjustment of said produced threshold ranges not to exceed said predetermined extreme values.

Claim 31

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; and f) where said motor driven element comprises a window and wherein the memory comprises memory means to store a multiplicity of predetermined desired measurement values for a fixed size threshold parameter range.

Claim 32

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; and f) where said motor driven element comprises a window and wherein the memory comprises memory means to store a multiplicity of predetermined desired measurement values for a fixed size threshold parameter range.

Claim 33

The apparatus of claim 25 where said memory comprises memory means to store and/or generate desired measurement values for a multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges where: a) said multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges have been determined from a combination of said measured values from past and/or present motions of said device; and b) said multiplicity of threshold parameter ranges generally correspond to said multiplicity of measured values in terms of relationship to said motion.

Claim 34

The apparatus of claim 26 where the determination of threshold parameter ranges uses a combination of past and present differences between desired and actual measurement values comprising: a) an estimation related to the standard deviation or variability of the distribution of the differences between the desired and actual measurement values; b) multiplication of said estimation by a predetermined upper and/or lower scale factor to produce the windows; and c) comparison of said produced windows to predetermined extreme values and adjustment of said produced windows not to exceed said predetermined extreme values.

Claim 35

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are high pass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 36

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are high pass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 37

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are bandpass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 38

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are bandpass filtered by the controller before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values.

Claim 39

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are matches filtered by the processor before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values where said matches filter has an emphasized response to an undesired motor load profile variation.

Claim 40

Apparatus for controlling motion of a motor driven element in a vehicle over a range of motion and for altering said motion when undesirable resistance to said motion is encountered, said apparatus comprising: a) a sensor for measuring a parameter of a motor coupled to the motor driven element that varies in response to a resistance to motion during all or part of a range of motion of the motor driven element; b) a memory for storing a number of desired measurement values from the sensor based on measurements of said parameter over at least a portion of said range of motion; c) comparator means for determining whether subsequently measured values fall outside a threshold parameter range bounding the desired values for the parameter as the motor driven element moves over its range of motion; d) a controller coupled to the comparator means for altering motion of said motor driven element in response to a determination from said comparator means; e) where said sensor takes a multiplicity of discrete measurements as the motor moves the motor driven element over its range of motion; f) where said memory for storing desired measurement values comprises memory means to store and/or generate said multiplicity of desired measurement values where: said multiplicity of desired measurement values have been determined from a combination of said measurement values from past and recently sensed motions of said motor driven element; g) where said controller produces said desired values by low pass filtering across previous cycles of said measurements; and h) where said measured values are matches filtered by the processor before being processed to produce said desired values before being compared to said desired values where said matches filter has an emphasized response to an undesired motor load profile variation.

Claim 43

The method of claim 31 where the determination of threshold windows uses a combination of past and present differences between desired and actual measurement values comprising: a) an estimation related to the standard deviation or variability of the distribution of the differences between the desired and actual measurement values; b) multiplication of said estimation by a predetermined upper and/or lower scale factor to produce the threshold ranges; and c) comparison of said produced windows to predetermined extreme values and adjustment of said produced threshold ranges not to exceed said predetermined extreme values.