US Patent 11396772 Obstacle and pulling detection in a clutch based roller shade

A motorized shade comprising a roller tube, a shade material connected to the roller tube, and a motor drive unit operably connected to the roller tube. The motor drive unit comprises a motor adapted to create torque to rotate the roller tube to lower or raise the shade material and a force sensor positioned at a point along the motor drive unit that resists the torque created by the motor resulting in a reaction force that is detected by the force sensor. The motor drive unit further comprises a motor control module adapted to receive sensor readings from the force sensor and control the motor in response to detecting an abrupt change in the reaction force using the received sensor readings to enable shade control via pulling of the shade material as well as or alternatively obstacle detection to minimize damage to the roller shade and users.