FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See Section 10 and Rule 13]
TITLE: “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING PRESENCE OF FOREIGN MATERIAL STUCK IN A CLOSED VEHICLE DOOR”
Name and address of the Applicant:
TATA MOTORS PASSENGER VEHICLES LIMITED, of Floor 3, 4, Plot-18, Nanavati
Mahalaya, Mudhana Shetty Marg, BSE, Fort, Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra, 400001;
Nationality: INDIAN
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure generally relates to field of automobile engineering. Particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a method and a system detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Many a times, while travelling in vehicles such as a car, lorry, truck and the like, the vehicle may contain materials such as a cloth/garment worn or associated with people travelling in the vehicle, polythene, paper material and the like related to items being parceled in the vehicle, that may get stuck in the vehicle door, when the vehicle door is closed. This may be unnoticed by the people travelling in the vehicle. Other people moving beside the vehicle in cars, motorcycles, and the like, may attempt to indicate such incidents via gestures. However, due to the traffic, noise and various other factors, the people inside the vehicle may not notice the gestures and even when the gestures are noticed, it may take a while to for the people in the vehicle to understand what that gesture indicates. Also, such gesturing activities may disturb the travelers on motorcycles, cars, and the like, beside the vehicle, which may shift their focus and lead to accidents. Such incidents may also lead to several problems as discussed below.
For instance, when a garment such as a saree, worn by a person who is travelling in a car is stuck in the car door when the car door is closed, a portion of the garment of the person in the vehicle may come in contact with the other vehicles moving beside the car. As an example, consider a user riding a motorcycle comes in contact with the portion of the garment which is being pulled on road since it is stuck in the car door. When tyre of the motorcycle comes in contact with the portion of the garment, an unbalanced condition may be created between front and rear wheel due to change in frictional coefficient of a motorcycle wheel passing over the portion of garment and this results in accidents or skidding of the motorcycle. Also, in some scenarios, the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door may get trapped in wheels of the subject vehicle or the vehicle that may pass close to the subject vehicle, when the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door is dragged on the road. For instance, when a foreign material such as saree gets stuck in the closed vehicle door, there may be chances that the saree gets dragged over the road that may lead to fatal accidents. Further, there is a chance of the foreign material such as saree, dhoti etc., getting damaged when the material gets dragged on the road, or when the foreign material comes in contact with grease applied to the vehicle doors or when the person holding or wearing the garment move unknowingly. As an example, damage to the

foreign material may include, but not limited to, tears, grease marks, stains, ravelling and the like.
One of the existing techniques provides a method for identifying presence of such foreign materials between vehicle frame and vehicle door, when the door is not closed completely. For instance, when a twig or a thick material is stuck between the vehicle frame and the vehicle door, when a user performs the action of closing the door, the door may not be closed properly. By detecting such status where the door is not closed properly, the existing technique may provide an alarm that a foreign material may be present between the vehicle frame and the vehicle door which is objecting proper closure of the vehicle door. However, when the foreign material of few microns such as 100-300 microns, such as a cloth, paper, and the like, is stuck between the vehicle frame and the vehicle door, the vehicle door may close completely due to the thin property of the foreign material. Existing technique fails to detect foreign materials in such scenarios wherein due to less thickness of the foreign materials, the vehicle door gets closed completely. Also, the existing techniques may provide false alerts indicating presence of the foreign material, when actual reason for non-closure of the vehicle door may be for instance, wear and tear of the vehicle door, damage of the vehicle door due to accident and the like. The reason being the existing technique indicates presence of the foreign material only based on the factor that the vehicle door is not closing completely, irrespective of the reasons for non-closure of the vehicle door.
The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
One or more shortcomings of the conventional systems are overcome by system and method as claimed and additional advantages are provided through the provision of system and method as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.
In one non-limiting embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a system for detecting presence of a foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. The system comprises a foreign

material detecting circuit that includes a conductive first metal to a frame gasket of a vehicle door and a conductive second metal affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. The conductive first metal and the conductive second metal overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is in a closed state. The system further comprises an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) present in a vehicle and is in communication with the foreign material detecting circuit. The ECU is configured to determine state of the vehicle door to be closed based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system. The ECU supplies an electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit, to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state. Further, the ECU detects presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be an open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the ECU detects formation of the open circuit when the ECU fails to receive electrical signal passing through the foreign material detecting circuit.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the electrical parameters are one of resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux and non-linear pressure or force.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the electrical parameter is resistance, for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the ECU detects resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU and thereafter detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the electrical parameter is resistance, for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU detects non- linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU and a resistance value corresponding to the non- linear force or pressure value. Further, the ECU detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the electrical parameter is eddy current magnetic flux, for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU detects

eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU. Further, the ECU detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the electrical parameter is capacitance, for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU detects capacitance value of the electric signal received by the ECU. Further, the ECU detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the ECU is further configured to indicate one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the ECU indicates the one or more warning alerts through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) configured in the vehicle and an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) configured in the vehicle.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more warning alerts are at least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the ECU is further configured to transmit a braking signal to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU, to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
In another non-limiting embodiment, the present disclosure discloses an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for detecting presence of a foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. The ECU is configured in the vehicle and includes a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores the processor-executable instructions, which, on execution, causes the processor to determine state of a vehicle door to be closed based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system. Further, the processor supplies an electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit, to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state. The conductive first metal and the conductive second metal overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is closed, wherein the conductive first metal is affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a conductive second metal is

affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. Finally, the processor detects the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
In yet another non-limiting embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a method of detecting presence of a foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. The method includes determining, by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) present in a vehicle, state of a vehicle door to be closed based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system. Further, the method includes supplying an electrical signal by the ECU through the foreign material detecting circuit, to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state . The conductive first metal is affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a conductive second metal is affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. Finally, the method includes detecting the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
It is to be understood that aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG.1 illustrates an exemplary system for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG.2 shows a detailed block diagram of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU)for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in open state, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in closed state and a foreign material is detected in the closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3C illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in closed state and no foreign material stuck is detected in the closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG.4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG.5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the system illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that includes a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
Disclosed herein are a system, method, and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for detecting presence of a foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. As an example, the vehicle may include, but not limited to, a car, truck, lorry, bus, and the like. For instance, the foreign material may include, but not limited to, a cloth, paper, polyethene and the like. The present disclosure makes use of a system that includes a foreign material detecting circuit to identify the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door. Further, the system may include an ECU that is in communication with the foreign material detecting circuit. In some embodiments, the foreign material detecting circuit may include a conductive first metal affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a conductive second metal affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. The conductive first metal and the conductive second metal may overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is in a closed state. Generally, the vehicle includes rubber/ door gasket which may also be called as weatherstripping, used to seal the edges of the doors, windows of the vehicle and the like, to prevent outside elements such as rain, snow, pest from reaching the inside of the vehicle.

Further, the ECU configured in the vehicle operates in communication with the foreign material detecting circuit and a door lock detecting system. In some embodiments, the ECU may determine state of the vehicle door to be closed based on a door lock signal received from the door lock detecting system. When the vehicle door is determined to be in the closed state, the ECU may supply an electric signal through the foreign material detecting circuit, to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit. In some embodiments, the ECU detects the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the open circuit. In alternative embodiments, the ECU detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit. As an example, the electrical parameters may be one of resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux. In some embodiments, when the ECU detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door, the ECU may indicate one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle. The present disclosure detects presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door. For instance, when a garment such as a saree, worn by a person who is travelling in a car is stuck in between the car door, a portion of the garment of the person in the vehicle may come in contact with the other vehicles moving beside the car. As an example, consider a user riding a motorcycle comes in contact with a portion of the garment which is being pulled on the road since it is stuck in the car door. When tyre of the motorcycle comes in contact with the portion of the garment, an unbalanced condition may be created between front and rear wheel due to change in frictional coefficient of a motorcycle wheel passing over the portion of garment and this results in accidents or skidding of the motorcycle. Also, in some scenarios, the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door may get trapped in wheels of the subject vehicle or the vehicle that may pass close to the subject vehicle, when the foreign material struck in the vehicle door dragged on the road which may lead to fatal accidents. Therefore, the present disclosure accurately detects the presence of such foreign materials stuck in the closed vehicle door by using a foreign material detecting circuit and indicates warning alerts to the user of the vehicle when the foreign material is detected in the vehicle door. Also, the present disclosure enables avoiding road accidents that may be caused due to skidding or imbalance of another vehicle that comes in contact with the foreign material. Therefore, the present disclosure not only eliminates such life-threatening scenarios by detecting and providing timely warning alerts about presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door, but also ensures providing eliminating false alerts like in the conventional techniques. The present disclosure

relies on the feedback of the electric signal apart from the door lock signal, to infer whether the foreign material is present. This helps in detecting even thinnest foreign material, which are for instance, 100-300 microns in size, and thereby enhances safety of the user and reduces false alerts.
A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the disclosure.
In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
FIG.1 illustrates an exemplary system for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The system 100 includes a foreign material detecting circuit 101, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 103, and a door lock detecting system 105 configured in the vehicle. As an example, the vehicle may include, but not limited to, a car, a truck, a lorry, a bus, and the like, that has a door to be opened and closed for entry and exit from the vehicle. In some embodiments, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may be configured to detect one or more foreign materials stuck in closed vehicle door. As an example, the one or more foreign materials may include a portion of the garment such as a saree, a shawl, a dhoti, bedsheet, and the like which is worn/held by a person travelling in the vehicle, polythene, plastic cover, or a paper associated with parcel/ packages carried in the vehicle and the like. The foreign material detecting circuit 101 may include a conductive first metal 107 and a conductive second metal 109. In some embodiments, the conductive first metal 107 may be affixed to a frame gasket of a vehicle door and a conductive second metal 109 may be affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. In some embodiments, the conductive first metal 107 and the conductive second metal 109 may implemented in different forms. For instance, the conductive first metal 107 and the conductive

second metal 109 of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may be implemented using conductive metal strips, conductive metal sheets, conductive metal blocks, conductive metal wires, conductive paint, and the like, which can be affixed on the door gasket and the frame gasket as explained above. For ease of understanding, the present disclosure is explained by considering the implementation in the form of conductive metal strips. However, this should not be construed as a limitation of the present disclosure, since the other implementations are also possible as mentioned above in this paragraph. Therefore, in the present disclosure, the phrase “conductive first metal” may interchangeably be used as “first conductive strip” and the phrase “conductive second metal” may be interchangeably used as “second conductive strip”. In some embodiments, the first and second conductive strips may be good conductors of electricity, or in other words, may be made of any electrically conductive material such as metals. As an examples, metals may include, but not limited to, copper, silver alloy, aluminum, and the like. In some embodiments, the conductive strip may be coated with an insulating material such as laminated self-adhesive butyl rubber and the like. In some embodiments, since the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109 are affixed on the frame gasket and the door gasket respectively, the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109 may overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is in a closed state. Therefore, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may be active only when the vehicle door is in a closed state, in other words, the closed state of the vehicle door may act as a trigger to activate the foreign material detecting circuit 101.
In some embodiments, state of the vehicle door may be determined based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system 105 associated with the ECU 103. As an example, the state of the vehicle door may be an open state and the closed state. The door lock detecting system 105 may provide a door lock signal to the ECU 103 based on a conventionally known switch mechanism. Upon receiving the door lock signal, the ECU 103 may determine the state of the vehicle door to be one of the open state or the close state based on the indication provided by the door lock signal. In some embodiments, when the vehicle door is determined to be in the open state, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is in inactive or in other words, disconnected. However, when the vehicle door is determined to be in the closed state, the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109 of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may overlap with each other, thereby activating the foreign material detecting circuit 101.

In some embodiments, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may be powered up by the ECU 103 present in the vehicle, which is in communication with the foreign material detecting circuit 101. The ECU 103 may include a processor 111, an Input/Output (I/O) interface 113 and a memory 115. The I/O interface 113 may receive the door lock signal from the door lock detecting system 105. Upon receiving the door lock signal, the processor 111 may determine the state of the vehicle door to be one of closed state or an open state. When the vehicle door is in the closed state, the processor 111 of the ECU 103 may power the foreign material detecting circuit 101 by supplying an electrical signal. As an example, the electrical signal may be a low voltage signal capable of being generated by the processor 111 of the vehicle. In some embodiments, since the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109 of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 are overlapped when the vehicle door is closed, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is said to be a closed circuit. In some embodiments, the processor 111 detects the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is detected to be the open circuit. For instance, when the electric signal supplied by the processor 111 passes through the foreign material detecting circuit 101, the electrical signal arrives back at the ECU 103, as if it completed a full cycle which may indicate there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle. When the electrical signal arrives back at the ECU 103, the processor 111 may consider it as successful transmission of the electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit 101. However, when a foreign material is stuck in the vehicle door, the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109 overlap, but fail to form a closed circuit, even if the vehicle door is closed. This may be due to the interference of the foreign material in the foreign material detecting circuit 101, that prevents the formation of the closed circuit, and hence, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is said to be an open circuit in such scenarios. Therefore, when the processor 111 supplies the electric signal through foreign material detecting circuit 101 , the electric signal may be lost at a point of interference of the foreign material. Since the ECU 103 fails to receive electrical signal from the foreign material detecting circuit 101, the processor 111 may detect the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 to be the open circuit. Based on the detection of the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101, the processor 111 may detect presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door i.e., when the state of the foreign material detection circuit 101 is an open circuit, then the processor 111 infers the presence of the foreign material. In some embodiments, in the present disclosure, any existing ECU 103 present in the vehicle, which is

capable of sending a low voltage electric signal may be configured to perform the method disclosed in the present disclosure.
In some alternative embodiments, the processor 111 may detect the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is detected to be the closed circuit. As an example, the electrical parameters may include, but not limited to, resistance, capacitance, and eddy current magnetic flux. In some embodiments, another parameter i.e. non-linear pressure or force may be considered for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. For instance, electrical resistance analogous to the non-linear pressure or force may be used for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is resistance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the predetermined threshold resistance is 375 Ohm, and the resistance value of the electrical signal detected by the ECU 103 is 100 Ohm. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected resistance value is less than the predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider the measured resistance value is determined to be between 400-500 Ohm. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material stuck is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the resistance value deviates from the predetermined threshold resistance due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is eddy current magnetic flux, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux is 1 Weber/sq.m, and the eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal detected by

the ECU 103 is 1 Weber/sq.m. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected electromagnetic flux value does not deviate from the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux. As an example, consider the measured eddy current magnetic flux value is determined to be between 0.5-0.7 Weber/sq.m instead of 1 Weber/sq.m. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is capacitance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect capacitance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the predetermined threshold capacitance is 2.5 microfarad, and the capacitance value of the electrical signal detected by the ECU 103 is 2.3 microfarad. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected capacitance value is less than the predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider the measured capacitance value is determined to be greater than 2.5 microfarad. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the capacitance value deviates from the predetermined threshold capacitance due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
In some embodiments, resistance may be determined analogous to another parameter such as non-linear pressure/force. For instance, the non-linear pressure/force may be detected using a strain gauge or any other equipment similar to strain gauge. In such scenarios, when the electrical parameter is resistance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect non-linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU 103 and a resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure value. Further, processor 111 detects the presence of the foreign

material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider there will be 10 ohm of resistance analogous of 20 N force detected by an attached strain gauge. Consider, when some foreign material is stuck in between, then the resultant change in the resistance by strain gauge would be 15 ohm which is analogous of 30 N force.
In other words, when the electrical parameters such as resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux and non-linear pressure or force deviates from a predetermined threshold value, then it is said that there is a presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door.
In some embodiments, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected, the ECU 103 may indicate one or more warning alerts to a user of the vehicle through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117 configured in the vehicle and an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 configured in the vehicle. In some embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may be at least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts. In some embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may be provided to a user device associated with the user. In yet other embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may be provided to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU 121 to halt the vehicle.
FIG.2 shows a detailed block diagram of an ECU for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
In some implementations, the ECU 103 may include data and modules. As an example, the data 203 is stored in the memory 115configured in the ECU 103 as shown in the FIG.2. In one embodiment, the data 203 may include status data 207, feedback data 209, alert data 211, and other data 213. In the illustrated FIG.2, modules 205 are described herein in detail.
In some embodiments, the data 203 may be stored in the memory 115 in form of various data structures. Additionally, the data 203 can be organized using data models, such as relational or hierarchical data models. The other data 213 may store data, including temporary data and temporary files, generated by the modules 205 for performing the various functions of the system.
In some embodiments, the status data 207 may include data/status corresponding to the doors of the vehicle. The status may be one of “open” or “closed”. In some embodiments, the ECU

103 may determine state of the vehicle door based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system 105 associated with the ECU 103.
In some embodiments, the feedback data 209 may include electrical signals received by the ECU 103 from the foreign material detecting circuit 101 each time an electrical signal is supplied via the foreign material detecting circuit 101 by the ECU 103. In some embodiments, the electrical signal may be indicative of state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101. For instance, when the ECU receives the electrical signal, it may indicate successful transmission of the electric signal via the foreign material detecting circuit 101, which means that the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is a closed circuit. On the contrary, when the ECU 103 fails to electrical signal, it may indicate failure of transmission of the electric signal via the foreign material detecting circuit 101, which means the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is an open circuit. In some alternative embodiments, the ECU 103 detects the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is detected to be the closed circuit. As an example, the electrical parameters, may include, but not limited to, resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux. In other words, when the electrical parameters such as resistance, capacitance, and eddy current magnetic flux deviate from a corresponding predetermined threshold value, then it is said that there is a presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. In some embodiments, another parameter i.e. non¬linear pressure or force may be considered for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. For instance, electrical resistance analogous to the non-linear pressure or force may be used for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door.
In some embodiments, the alert data 211 may store data associated with one or more warning alerts provided to a user of the vehicle. As an example, the alert data 211 may include, but not limited to, type of warning alert, time at which warning alerts were provided, number of times warning alerts were provided, number of times warning alerts were overridden, and the like. In some embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may include, but not limited to, audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts. In some embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may be provided in response to, the detection of presence of a foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door, through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117 configured in the vehicle and an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 configured in the vehicle and the like.

In some embodiments, the data 203 stored in the memory 115 may be processed by the modules of the ECU 103. The modules may be stored within the memory 115 that is communicatively coupled with the ECU. The ECU 103 may also be present outside the memory 115 as shown in FIG.2 and implemented as hardware. As used herein, the term modules refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor 111 (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory 115 that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.
In some embodiments, the modules 205 may include, for example, a receiving module 215, a foreign material detecting module 217, an alerting module 219 and other modules 221. The other modules 221 may be used to perform one or more miscellaneous functionalities of the ECU 103.
In some embodiments, the receiving module 215 may receive a door lock signal from a door lock detecting system. In some embodiments, the door lock detecting signal may be indicative of status of the vehicle doors. Based on the received door lock signal, the ECU 103 may determine state of the vehicle door. In some embodiments, state of the vehicle door may be one of “closed state” and “open state”. For instance, “closed state” may indicate that the vehicle door is closed completely, and “open state” may indicate that the vehicle door is left open. In some embodiments, when the vehicle door is in the closed state, a first conductive strip 107 of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a second conductive strip 109 of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door may overlap to form a closed circuit.
In some embodiments, foreign material detecting module 217 may determine presence of one or more foreign materials stuck in the closed vehicle door. When the ECU 103 determines the state of the vehicle door to be “closed”, the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may get activated due to the overlapping of the first conductive strip 107 and the second conductive strip 109. In some embodiments, the foreign material detecting module 217 may then supply an electrical signal through foreign material detecting circuit 101 to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 to be one of an open circuit or a closed circuit In some embodiments, the foreign material detecting module 217 may supply a low-voltage electric signal to the foreign material detecting circuit 101. Upon supplying the electrical signal when the vehicle door is in the closed state, the foreign material detecting module 217 may wait to receive the electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit 101. In some

embodiments, when the foreign material detecting module 217 receives the electrical signal, the foreign material detecting module 217 may infer successful transmission of the electric signal via the foreign material detecting circuit 101, which means that the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is a closed circuit as shown in FIG.3C. On the contrary, when the foreign material detecting module 217 fails to receive the electrical signal, the foreign material detecting module 217 may indicate failure of transmission of the electric signal via the foreign material detecting circuit 101, which means the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is an open circuit. When the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is determined to be open circuit, the foreign material detecting module 217 may detect presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door. In some embodiments, the overlapped first conductive circuit and the second conductive circuit of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 may form an open circuit when one or more foreign materials are present or stuck in the closed vehicle door since the one or more foreign materials interfere with the overlapped first conductive circuit and the second conductive circuit. Therefore, when the one or more foreign materials such as a piece of cloth, polythene, paper, and the like are found to be stuck in the closed vehicle door, transmission of the electric signal back to the ECU 103 may fail. In other words, the foreign material detecting module 217 may detect formation of the open circuit and the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door, when the ECU 103 fails to receive the electrical signal indicative of successful transmission of the electric signal through the foreign material detecting circuit 101 as shown in FIG. 3B.
In some alternative embodiments, the processor 111 may detect the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is detected to be the closed circuit. As an example, the electrical parameters may include, but not limited to, resistance, capacitance, and eddy current magnetic flux. In some embodiments, another parameter i.e. non-linear pressure or force may be considered for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. For instance, electrical resistance analogous to the non-linear pressure or force may be used for detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is resistance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the

predetermined threshold resistance is 375 Ohm, and the resistance value of the electrical signal detected by the ECU 103 is 100 Ohm. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected resistance value is less than the predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider the measured resistance value is determined to be between 400-500 Ohm. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material stuck is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the resistance value deviates from the predetermined threshold resistance due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is eddy current magnetic flux, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux is 1 Weber/sq.m, and the eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal detected by the ECU 103 is 1 Weber/sq.m. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected electromagnetic flux value does not deviate from the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux. As an example, consider the measured eddy current magnetic flux value is determined to be between 0.5-0.7 Weber/sq.m instead of 1 Weber/sq.m. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from the predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
For instance, when the electrical parameter is capacitance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect capacitance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU 103. If the processor 111 determines that the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance, the processor 111 may detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door. As an example, consider the predetermined threshold capacitance is 2.5 microfarad, and the capacitance value of the

electrical signal detected by the ECU 103 is 2.3 microfarad. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that there is no foreign material stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the detected capacitance value is less than the predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider the measured capacitance value is determined to be greater than 2.5 microfarad. In such scenarios, the processor 111 detects that the foreign material is stuck in the closed door of the vehicle as the capacitance value deviates from the predetermined threshold capacitance due to the formation of gap in the foreign material detecting circuit, when the vehicle door is closed. The gap in the foreign material detecting circuit may be caused due to the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed door.
In some embodiments, resistance may be determined analogous to another parameter such as non-linear pressure/force. For instance, the non-linear pressure/force may be detected using a strain gauge or any other equipment similar to strain gauge. In such scenarios, when the electrical parameter is resistance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the processor 111 may detect non-linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU 103 and a resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure value. Further, processor 111 detects the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance. As an example, consider there will be 10 ohm of resistance analogous of 20 N force detected by an attached strain gauge. Consider, when some foreign material is stuck in between, then the resultant change in the resistance by strain gauge would be 15 ohm which is analogous of 30 N force.
In other words, when the electrical parameters such as resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux and non-linear pressure or force deviates from a predetermined threshold value, then it is said that there is a presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door.
In some embodiments, the alerting module 219 may indicate one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected. In some embodiments, the one or more warning alerts may include, but not limited to, at least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts. As an example, the one or more users may include, but not limited to, driver of the vehicle, owner of the vehicle and the like. In some embodiments, the alerting module 219 may provide the one or more warning alerts to at least one of Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117 of the vehicle, and Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 of the vehicle. In some other embodiments, the alerting

module 219 may indicate the one or more warning alerts through a user device associated with the one or more users. Based on the one or more warning alerts received from the alerting module219, the one or more users may plan a suitable action to remove the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door. In some other embodiments, along with the one or more warning alerts, the ECU 103 may transmit a braking signal to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU 121, to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
In some embodiments, the alerting module 219 may receive an override signal from the HMI 117 or the user device associated with the vehicle, when the one or more users associated with the vehicle wish to disregard one or more warning alerts generated in response to detection of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door. For instance, when the vehicle is not cleaned for a long time, mud or tiny gravels may be detected as foreign materials. In such cases, the user may wish to disregard the one or more warning alerts by overriding the signal. Similarly in situations when the foreign material detecting circuit 101 is forming an open circuit due to a fault in the vehicle door such as deformation in the door, defect in the door, and the like, the user of the vehicle may override such warning alerts signal.
FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in open state, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, FIG. 3A discloses a door lock detecting system 105 that provides a door lock signal indicative of open or closed state of the vehicle door. Further, FIG.3A includes an exemplary first conductive strip 305 affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in the FIG.3A) and an exemplary second conductive strip 307 affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in the FIG.3A). The exemplary first and second conductive strips are connected to an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), for instance, a Body Control Module (BCM) ECU 303 of the vehicle. Further, the BCM ECU is connected to the door lock detecting system 105 and the Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117, Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU 121 of the vehicle as shown in the FIG.3A. For instance, in this exemplary scenario, when the door lock detecting system 105 identifies that the door of the vehicle is in open state, then the door lock detecting system 105 may provide a door lock signal indicative of the state of the vehicle to BCM ECU 303. Upon receiving the signal from door lock detecting system 105, the BCM ECU 303 may determine the state of the

vehicle door to be “open state” and hence does not proceed to further step of identifying the foreign material at the door of the vehicle.
FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in closed state and a foreign material is detected in the closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, FIG.3B discloses door lock detecting system 105 that provides a door lock signal indicative of open or closed state of the vehicle door. Further, FIG.3B includes an exemplary first conductive strip 305 affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in FIG.3B) and an exemplary second conductive strip 307 affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in FIG.3B). The exemplary first and second conductive strips are connected to an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) such as a Body Control Module (BCM) ECU 303 of the vehicle. Further, the BCM ECU 303 is connected to the door lock detecting system 105 and Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117, Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU of the vehicle as shown in the FIG.3B. For instance, in this exemplary scenario, when the door lock detecting system 105 provides a signal indicative of the state of the vehicle to the BCM ECU 303, the BCM ECU 303 may determine the state of the vehicle door as “closed state”. Upon determining the closed state of the vehicle door, the BCM ECU 303 supplies a low voltage electrical signal to the exemplary first conductive strip 305 and the exemplary second conductive strip 307 that are overlapped as shown in the FIG.3B due to closure of the vehicle door. When presence of a foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected, then the BCM ECU 303 fails to receive the electric signal passing through the foreign material detecting circuit 101 as shown in fig 3B using a cross mark. Thereafter, the BCM ECU 303 sends one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle through HMI 117 or IPC 119 configured in the vehicle. Also, the BCM ECU 303 is further configured to transmit a braking signal to an ESP ECU 121, to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
FIG. 3C illustrates an exemplary scenario when the vehicle door is in closed state and no foreign material stuck is present in the vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, FIG.3C discloses a door lock detecting system 105 that provides a door lock signal indicative of closed state of the vehicle door. Further, FIG. 3C includes an exemplary first conductive strip 305 affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in the FIG.3C) and an exemplary second conductive strip 307 affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door (not shown in the FIG.3C). The exemplary first and second conductive strips are connected to an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) such as a Body Control Module (BCM) ECU 303 of the vehicle. Further, the BCM ECU 303 is connected to the door lock detecting system 105 and the Human Machine Interface (HMI) 117, Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU of the vehicle as shown in the FIG.3C. For instance, in this exemplary scenario, when the door lock detecting system 105 provides a signal a signal indicative of the state of the vehicle to the BCM ECU 303, the BCM ECU 303 may determine the state of the vehicle door as “closed state”. Upon determining the closed state of the vehicle door, the BCM ECU 303 supplies a low voltage electrical signal to the first conductive strip 305 and the second conductive strip 307 that are overlapped as shown in the FIG.3C due to closure of the vehicle door. When foreign material is not stuck in the vehicle door, the BCM ECU 303 receives back the electric signal passing through the foreign material detecting circuit 101 as shown in FIG.3C.
FIG.4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in FIG.4, the method 400 includes one or more blocks illustrating a method for detecting presence of a foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. The method 400 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform functions or implement abstract data types.
The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 400. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method 400 can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 401, the method 400 may include determining, by a processor 111 of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 103 present in a vehicle, state of a vehicle door to be one of “open” or “closed” based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system 105 associated with the ECU 103.
At block 403, the processor 111 checks for a condition to see whether the state of the vehicle door is determined to be closed. If the processor 111 determines the state of the vehicle door to be closed, the method proceeds to block 405 via "Yes". If the processor 111 determines the state of the vehicle door to be open, the method proceeds to block 407 via "No".
At block 405, the method 400 may include supplying, by the processor 111 an electrical signal a foreign material detecting circuit 101, to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit 101 to be one of open circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is closed. In some embodiments, the conductive first metal 107 is affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a conductive second metal 109 is affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door. In some embodiments, the ECU 103 may supply the electrical signal to at least one of the conductive first metal 107, the conductive second metal 109 or both the conductive first metal 107 and the conductive second metal 109.
At block 409, the method 400 may include detecting, by the processor 111, the presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
FIG.5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, FIG.5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 500 for implementing embodiments consistent with the present invention. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may be Electronic Control Unit 103 for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door. The computer system 500 may include a central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor 111”) 502. The processor 502 may include at least one data processor 502 for executing program components for executing user or system-generated business processes. A user may include a person, a person using a device such as such as those included in this invention, or such a device itself. The processor 502 may include specialized processing units such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory

management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc.
The processor 502 may be disposed in communication with input devices 511 and output devices 512 via I/O interface 501. The I/O interface 501 may employ communication protocols/methods such as, without limitation, audio, analog, digital, stereo, IEEE-1394, serial bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component, composite, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), Radio Frequency (RF) antennas, S-Video, Video Graphics Array (VGA), IEEE 802.n /b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Global System For Mobile Communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax, or the like), etc. Using the I/O interface 501, computer system 500 may communicate with input devices 511 and output devices 512.
In some embodiments, the processor 502 may be disposed in communication with a communication network 509 via a network interface 503. The network interface 503 may communicate with the communication network 509. The network interface 503 may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc. Using the network interface 503 and the communication network 509, the computer system 500 may communicate with a door lock detecting system 105, a foreign material detecting circuit 101, a Human Machine Interface 117, an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) 119 and an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU 121. The communication network 509 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet or Local Area Network (LAN), Closed Area Network (CAN) and such within the vehicle. The communication network 509 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network, which represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), CAN Protocol, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the communication network 509 may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, etc. The user device in the present disclosure may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, and the like. In some embodiments, the processor 502 may be disposed in communication with a memory 505 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. not shown in FIG.5) via a storage interface 504. The storage interface 504 may connect to memory 505 including, without

limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB), fibre channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, Redundant Array of Independent Discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.
The memory 505 may store a collection of program or database components, including, without limitation, a user interface 506, an operating system 507, a web browser 508 etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may store user/application data, such as the data, variables, records, etc. as described ins this invention. Such databases may be implemented as fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle or Sybase.
The operating system 507 may facilitate resource management and operation of the computer system 500. Examples of operating systems include, without limitation, APPLE® MACINTOSH® OS X®, UNIX®, UNIX-like system distributions (E.G., BERKELEY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION® (BSD), FREEBSD®, NETBSD®, OPENBSD, etc.), LINUX® DISTRIBUTIONS (E.G., RED HAT®, UBUNTU®, KUBUNTU®, etc.), IBM®OS/2®,
MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® (XP®, VISTA®/7/8, 10 etc.), APPLE® IOS®, GOOGLETM ANDROIDTM, BLACKBERRY® OS, or the like. The User interface 506 may facilitate display, execution, interaction, manipulation, or operation of program components through textual or graphical facilities. For example, user interfaces may provide computer interaction interface elements on a display system operatively connected to the computer system 500, such as cursors, icons, check boxes, menus, scrollers, windows, widgets, etc. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) may be employed, including, without limitation, Apple® Macintosh® operating systems’ Aqua®, IBM® OS/2®, Microsoft® Windows® (e.g., Aero, Metro, etc.), web interface libraries (e.g., ActiveX®, Java®, Javascript®, AJAX, HTML, Adobe® Flash®, etc.), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may implement the web browser 508 stored program components. The web browser 508 may be a hypertext viewing application, such as MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER®, GOOGLETM CHROMETM, MOZILLA® FIREFOX®, APPLE® SAFARI®, etc. Secure web browsing may be provided using Secure Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTPS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), etc. Web browsers 508 may utilize facilities such as AJAX, DHTML, ADOBE® FLASH®, JAVASCRIPT®, JAVA®, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may implement a mail server stored program

component. The mail server may be an Internet mail server such as Microsoft Exchange, or the like. The mail server may utilize facilities such as Active Server Pages (ASP), ACTIVEX®, ANSI® C++/C#, MICROSOFT®, .NET, CGI SCRIPTS, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT®, PERL®, PHP, PYTHON®, WEBOBJECTS®, etc. The mail server may utilize communication protocols such as Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI), MICROSOFT® exchange, Post Office Protocol (POP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may implement a mail client stored program component. The mail client may be a mail viewing application, such as APPLE® MAIL, MICROSOFT® ENTOURAGE®, MICROSOFT® OUTLOOK®, MOZILLA® THUNDERBIRD®, etc.
Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present invention. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor 502 may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processor 502, including instructions for causing the processor 502 to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, Compact Disc (CD) ROMs, Digital Video Disc (DVDs), flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.
Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100a Architecture
100 System
101 Foreign material detecting circuit
103 Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
105 Door lock detecting system
107 Conductive first metal
109 Conductive second metal
111 Processor
113 I/O interface
115 Memory

117 Human- Machine Interface (HMI)
119 Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)
121 Electronic stability program (ESP) ECU
203 Data
205 Modules
207 Status data
209 Feedback data
211 Alert data
213 Other data
215 Receiving module
217 Foreign material detecting module
219 Alerting module
221 Other modules
303 Body Control Unit (BCM) ECU
305 Exemplary first conductive strip
307 Exemplary second conductive strip
500 Exemplary computer system
501 I/O Interface of the exemplary computer system
502 Processor of the exemplary computer system
503 Network interface
504 Storage interface
505 Memory of the exemplary computer system
506 User interface
507 Operating system
508 Web browser
509 Communication network
511 Input devices
512 Output devices

We claim:
1. A system (100) for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, the
system comprising:
a foreign material detecting circuit (101) comprising:
a conductive first metal (107) affixed to a frame gasket of a vehicle door; and
a conductive second metal (109) affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door, wherein the conductive first metal (107) and the conductive second metal (109) overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is in a closed state;
an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) (103) present in a vehicle and is in communication with the foreign material detecting circuit (101), wherein the ECU (103) is configured to:
determine state of the vehicle door to be “closed” based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system (105);
supply an electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit (101), to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit (101) to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state; and
detect presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) detects the open circuit when the ECU (103) fails to receive electrical signal passing through the foreign material detecting circuit (101).
3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical parameters are one of resistance, capacitance, and eddy current magnetic flux.
4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when the electrical parameter is resistance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the ECU (103) is configured to:
detect resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when the electrical parameter is resistance,
to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU (103) is configured
to:
detect non- linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU (103) and a resistance value corresponding to the non- linear force or pressure value; and
detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when the electrical parameter is eddy
current magnetic flux, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the
ECU (103) is configured to:
detect eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and
detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux.
7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when the electrical parameter is
capacitance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU (103)
is configured to:
detect capacitance value of the electric signal received by the ECU (103); and detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance.
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured to indicate one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the ECU (103) indicates the one or more warning alerts through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) (117) configured in the vehicle and an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) (119) configured in the vehicle.
10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the one or more warning alerts are at
least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts.

11. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured
to:
transmit a braking signal to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU (121), to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured
to receive an override signal from an HMI (117), when one or more users wish to disregard
one or more warning alerts generated in response to detection of the foreign material in the
vehicle door.
13. An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) (103) for detecting presence of foreign material stuck in
a closed vehicle door, the ECU (103) is communicatively coupled to a memory (115),
wherein the memory (115) stores instructions executable by the ECU (103), which on
execution,
determine state of a vehicle door to be “closed” based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system;
supply an electric signal through a foreign material detecting circuit (101), to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit (101) to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state, wherein the conductive first metal (107) and the conductive second metal strip (109) overlap to form a closed circuit when the vehicle door is closed, wherein the conductive first metal (107) is affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and the conductive second metal(109) is affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door; and
detect presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit (101) is detected to be an open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
14. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ECU (103) detects the open circuit when the ECU (103) fails to receive electrical signal through the foreign material detecting circuit (101).
15. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the electrical parameters are one of resistance, capacitance, and eddy current magnetic flux.

16. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the electrical parameter is resistance,
to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, the ECU (103) is
configured to:
detect resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
17. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein, when the electrical parameter is resistance,
to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU (103) is configured
to:
detect non- linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU (103) and a resistance value corresponding to the non- linear force or pressure value; and
detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
18. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein, when the electrical parameter is eddy
current magnetic flux, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the
ECU (103) is configured to:
detect eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and
detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux.
19. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein, when the electrical parameter is
capacitance, to detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, the ECU (103)
is configured to:
detect capacitance value of the electric signal received by the ECU (103); and detect the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance.

20. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured to indicate one or more warning alerts to one or more users associated with the vehicle when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the closed vehicle door is detected.
21. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ECU (103) indicates the one or more warning alerts through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) (117) configured in the vehicle and an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) (119) configured in the vehicle.
22. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the one or more warning alerts are at least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts.
23. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured to:
transmit a braking signal to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU (121), to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door is detected.
24. The ECU (103) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured to receive an override signal from a HMI (117), when one or more users wish to disregard one or more warning alerts generated in response to detection of the foreign material in the vehicle door.
25. A method of detecting presence of foreign material stuck in a closed vehicle door, the method comprising:
determining, by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) present in a vehicle, state of a vehicle door to be “closed” based on a door lock signal received from a door lock detecting system;
supplying, by the ECU (103), an electric signal through a foreign material detecting circuit (101), to detect state of the foreign material detecting circuit (101) to be one of open circuit or a closed circuit, upon determining that the vehicle door is in the closed state, wherein the conductive first metal (107) is affixed to a frame gasket of the vehicle door and a conductive second metal (109) is affixed to a door gasket of the vehicle door; and
detecting, by the ECU (103), presence of a foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit (101) is detected to be an

open circuit or based on a change in electrical parameters when the state of the foreign material detecting circuit is detected to be the closed circuit.
26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein detecting the open circuit when the ECU (103) fails to receive electrical signal passing through the foreign material detecting circuit (101).
27. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the electrical parameters are one of resistance, capacitance, eddy current magnetic flux and non-linear pressure or force.
28. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door, when the electrical parameter is resistance, the method comprises:
detecting resistance value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
29. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein, detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, when the electrical parameter is resistance, the method comprises:
detecting non- linear force or pressure value experienced by the electrical signal received by the ECU (103) and a resistance value corresponding to the non- linear force or pressure value;
detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the resistance value corresponding to the non-linear force or pressure deviates from a predetermined threshold resistance.
30. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein, detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle, when the electrical parameter is eddy current magnetic flux, the method comprises:
detecting eddy current magnetic flux value of the electrical signal received by the ECU (103); and
detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the eddy current magnetic flux value deviates from a predetermined threshold electromagnetic flux.

31. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein, detecting the presence of the foreign material
stuck in the vehicle, when the electrical parameter is capacitance, the method comprises:
detecting capacitance value of the electric signal received by the ECU (103); and detecting the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door when the capacitance value deviates from a predetermined threshold capacitance.
32. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein indicating one or more warning alerts to one
or more users associated with the vehicle when the presence of the foreign material stuck in
the vehicle door is detected.
33. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein indicating the one or more warning alerts
through at least one of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) (117) configured in the vehicle and
an Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) (119) configured in the vehicle.
34. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the one or more warning alerts are at least one of audio alerts, visual alerts, and haptic alerts.
35. The method as claimed in claim 28, the method is further comprises transmitting a braking signal to an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ECU (121), to halt the vehicle, when the presence of the foreign material stuck in the vehicle door is detected.
36. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein receiving an override signal from an HMI, (117) when one or more users wish to disregard one or more warning alerts generated in response to detection of the foreign material in the vehicle door.