This solution is a demonstrator of the capability to design a trunk lift using motor drivers with current sensing for safety, a microcontroller and non-automotive qualified FlightSense™ sensors to have a foot movement reliable detection for trunk opening.

Today's car manufacturers are required to come up with innovative new features to distinguish themselves in a very competitive market. One way to do this is to implement a hands-free solution to open or close a car's trunk to improve people's experiences with their vehicles.

With many car owners frustrated by the unpredictable behavior of their lift gates in many recent car models offering a similar application, our smart solution describes a simplified way for people to open or close their trunk using a predefined foot movement. It also includes a safety feature based on current sensing that prevents damage if there are obstacles when opening or closing the trunk.

ST's hands-free power liftgate solution only uses three components for a reduced bill of materials and a simpler design phase. Non-automotive FlightSense™ sensors located below the bumper are used to detect the foot movement under the trunk. Once the foot movement is detected, a general-purpose SPC58 C Line automotive microcontroller (SPC58EC80E5) will confirm the correct pattern and send a command to open or close the trunk to the two automotive-grade fully integrated H-bridge motor drivers (VNH7040AY) that synchronously drive the liftgate's two linear actuator motors. Of course, to ensure security, the hands-free solution only works if the vehicle is already unlocked and parked.

Note: Optionally, it is also possible to use a VNHD7008AY H-bridge motor driver which integrates a fully protected dual high-side driver as well as the drivers and protections for the two external power MOSFETs in a low-side configuration.

FlightSense is a registered and/or unregistered trademark of STMicroelectronics International NV or its affiliates in the EU and/or elsewhere.