DESC:This application is based on and derives the benefit of Indian Provisional Application 201641012901, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD
Embodiments herein relate to vehicles, and more particularly to ergonomic systems of vehicles.

BACKGROUND
For a vehicle door, measurement of the door operation effort is used to check the comfort level of the end user while opening the vehicle door. So, understanding the effort to open the door and effort required at check arm point opening in the vehicles at design phase is required. For angle of door opening against the effort required to close the door, door angle effort measurement instruments are available in the market and they measure effort irrespective of door angle. In real life situations, opening efforts will be higher at the beginning and an increase in effort will be observed at check arm points. In order to measure such effort normally, a push-pull gauge is used at different points and an average effort of every point after number of trials will be recorded manually. This can lead to errors caused by human errors during the measurement and degradation of effort with respect to ageing and so on.
In an existing solution using the push-pull gauge, though the effort has been measured at particular points, the overall effort on door opening behavior cannot be captured and compared. Current automated solutions are often expensive and the costs are often prohibitive.

OBJECTS
The principal object of embodiments as disclosed herein is to provide methods and systems for measuring effort required for operating a door of a vehicle.
Another object of embodiments as disclosed herein is to provide methods and systems for measuring the effort required for operating a door of a vehicle against the angle of the door of the vehicle.
A further object of embodiments as disclosed herein is to provide methods and systems for comparing the effort required for operating different designs of a door of a vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, through out which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 depicts a system for determining the door opening angle and effort required to operate the door of a vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 2 depicts an example plotted surface, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 3 depicts an example of the placement of the plotted surface, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 4 depicts an example of the rope sensor, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 5 depicts an example of the fitting of the rope sensor to the vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 6 depicts the rope sensor being calibrated, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 7 depicts an example of the transducer being mounted on the door handle of a vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 8 depicts an example of the mounting of the height sensor, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 9 depicts an example of a vehicle mounted with the plotted surface, the transducer and the height sensor, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIGs. 10a, 10b and 10c depict examples of the rope sensor measuring the displacement of the door, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 11 depicts an example plot comparing the effort required for opening the door for two vehicles, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
FIG. 12 is a flowchart depicting the process for determining the door opening angle and effort required to operate the door of a vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The embodiments herein achieve methods and systems for measuring effort required for operating a door of a vehicle. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 12, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.
FIG. 1 depicts a system for determining the door opening angle and effort required to operate the door of a vehicle. The system 100, as depicted, comprises of a controller 101 connected to a rope sensor 102, a transducer 103, and a height sensor 104. The system 100 can further comprise a means 105 to measure the angle of the door opening. In an example herein, a plotted surface 105, which can be marked with periodic angular measurements (as depicted in FIG. 2) (such as a paper sheet, plastic sheet, wooden sheet, or any other surface), can be placed below the door, such that the angle of the door can be plotted on the plotted surface 105 (as depicted in FIG. 3). The placement of the plotted surface 105 can be such that the corner of the door coincides with the apex of the angular measurement (as depicted in FIG. 3). The placement of the plotted surface 105 can be done using a suitable means such as a plumb ball (as depicted in FIG. 3).
The rope sensor 102 can be used to measure the displacement of the door of the vehicle. An example of the rope sensor 102 is depicted in FIG. 4. The rope sensor 102 can be fitted to the vehicle, as depicted in the example in FIG. 5. The controller 101 can calibrate the rope sensor by determining the voltage across the rope sensor 102 for the full door displacement (as depicted in FIG. 6), which can be stored on the controller 101.
The transducer 103 can be used for measuring the effort used for opening the door. FIG. 7 depicts an example of the transducer 104 being mounted on the door handle of a vehicle. The height sensor 104 can be mounted on the outer surface of the door, so as to measure the angle of the door on the plotted surface 105. FIG. 8 depicts an example of the mounting of the height sensor 104. FIG. 9 depicts an example of a vehicle mounted with the plotted surface 105, the transducer 103 and the height sensor 104.
On opening the door, the controller 101 can measure the displacement of the door using the rope sensor 102. The controller 101 can calculate the voltage across the rope sensor 102 and compare the voltage to the voltage generated by the rope sensor 102 when the door has been fully displaced. Considering the example as depicted in FIGs. 10a, 10b and 10c. The controller 101 can covert the measured displacement into angle using the following formulae:

Cos(a+ß)=(L_2^2-a^2-r^2)/2ar
L_2^2=a^2+r^2-2arcos(a+ß)
cos(a+ß)=(L_2^2-a^2-r^2/2ar)
a+ß=?cos?^(-1) (((L_2^2-a^2-r^2/2ar))
a=?cos?^(-1) (((L_2^2-a^2-r^2/2ar))-ß
a=?cos?^(-1) (((L_2^2-a^2-r^2/2ar))-?tan?^(-1) (L_1/r)

The controller 101 can also measure the angle using the height sensor 104 and the plotted surface 105. The controller 101 can confirm the angle determined using the rope sensor 102 and the height sensor 104. The controller 101 can measure the corresponding effort required to open the door to the angle, using the transducer 103. The controller 101 can determine the angle of the door at pre-defined angular intervals and the corresponding effort required. The controller 101 can create a plot of the door angle versus the corresponding effort required. An example plot comparing the effort required for opening the door for two vehicles has been depicted in FIG. 11. The controller 101 can store the collected data and plotted data into a suitable location, such as a local memory, a remote memory, a database, a file server, a data server, the Cloud, and so on.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart depicting the process for determining the door opening angle and effort required to operate the door of a vehicle. On opening (1201) the door, the controller 101 measures (1202) the displacement of the door using the rope sensor 102 by calculating the voltage across the rope sensor 102 and comparing the voltage to the voltage generated by the full angle displacement of the door. The controller 101 also measures (1203) the angle using the height sensor 104 and the plotted surface 105. The controller 101 confirms (1204) the angle determined using the rope sensor 102 and the height sensor 104. The controller 101 measures (1205) the corresponding effort required to open the door to the angle, using the transducer 103. The controller 101 creates (1206) a plot of various door angles versus the corresponding effort required. The various actions in method 1200 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 12 may be omitted.
Embodiments herein enable measurement of the ergonomics of vehicle door functions to meet the subjective demands on customer expectations and compare the results due to aging as well as other door design effects. Embodiments disclosed herein give a direct correlation between the angle of the door and the effort. Embodiments disclosed herein are cheaper compared to existing solutions. Embodiments disclosed herein provide a close loop to the end user to simulate the recorded angle into the data logger, so that the user can physically observe it. Embodiments herein enable monitoring of degradation of efforts on vehicle doors.
The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in Fig. 1 include blocks, which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
The embodiment disclosed herein describes methods and systems for measuring effort required for operating a door of a vehicle. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means, which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware, and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
,CLAIMS:STATEMENT OF CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A method for determining effort required for operating a door of a vehicle, the method comprising
measuring displacement of the door using a rope sensor (102) by a controller (101) by calculating voltage across the rope sensor (102) and comparing the voltage to the voltage generated by the rope sensor (102) when the door is fully displaced;
measuring angle of the door by the controller (101) using the measured displacement of the door; and
measuring corresponding effort required to open the door to the measured angle using a transducer (103) by the controller (101).

2. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises
measuring the angle using a height sensor (104) and a plotted surface (105) by the controller (101); and
confirming the angle measured using the measured displacement of the door with the angle measured using the height sensor (104) and the plotted surface (105) by the controller (101).

3. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises generating a plot of the measured angle versus the effort required to open the door to that measured angle by the controller (101).

4. A system (100) for determining effort required for operating a door of a vehicle, the system configured for
measuring displacement of the door using a rope sensor (102) by calculating voltage across the rope sensor (102) and comparing the voltage to the voltage generated by the rope sensor (102) when the door is fully displaced;
measuring angle of the door using the measured displacement of the door; and
measuring corresponding effort required to open the door to the measured angle using a transducer (103).

5. The system, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the system is further configured for
measuring the angle using a height sensor (104) and a plotted surface (105); and
confirming the angle measured using the measured displacement of the door with the angle measured using the height sensor (104) and the plotted surface (105).

6. The system, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the system is further configured for generating a plot of the measured angle versus the effort required to open the door to that measured angle.