Intier Automotive Closures Inc.

Carl W Gifford

Mirko Pribisic

Andrew R Daniels

Thomas P Frommer

Leslie Joseph Marentette

Kathryn Petroff

Jan Majewski

An anti-pinch assembly is used for a closure panel movable between open and closed positions on a motor vehicle. A controller operably connected to the closure panel controls operation thereof. A position sensor connected to the controller indicates the position of the closure panel between the open and closed positions. A capacitive sensor mounted on the vehicle and connected to the controller provides an output signal to the controller indicative of the presence of a foreign object in the path of the closure panel. The controller varies the function of the capacitive sensor through a plurality of threshold levels as a function of the position of the closure panel as indicated by the position indicator. In a critical zone of travel with the closure panel nearing the closed position, the capacitive sensor can be utilized in either a contact mode or a non-contact mode or a combination of both.

Multizone capacitive anti-pinch system

A controller for a vehicular power accessory includes an elongate sensor electrode (), a capacitive shield () extending significantly beyond the sensor electrode (). A dielectric () is disposed between the capacitive shield () and the sensor electrode () to isolate the sensor electrode () from the capacitive shield (). A sensor processor () is in electrical communication with the sensor electrode () for processing sense data received from the sensor electrode (). A power actuator () is in electrical communication with the sensor processor () for effecting movement of the power accessory in accordance with the processed sense data. The sensor electrode () can be applied to various vehicle locations with the purpose of detecting obstacles and activating an alarm or display.

Non-contact proximity sensor

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Barrie, Canada

Carl W Gifford