DE102008058926B4 - Electromotive drive unit for actuators in motor vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

Electromotive drive unit for actuators in motor vehicles, having a housing (4) and a control circuit board (30) arranged in the housing (4), the housing (4) having at least one through-hole (22) for making electrical contact with the control circuit board (30), wherein the control circuit board (30) has contact elements (20) for contacting the control circuit board (30) by means of a plug to be plugged onto the drive unit (2), which are arranged protruding in a straight line from the control circuit board (30) and are dimensioned in such a way that they have a socket or a plug collar (18), which is designed for a plug to be plugged onto the contact elements (20), whereby the socket or the plug collar (18) is designed in one piece with the housing (4) or is connected to the housing (4) in a materially bonded manner, thereby characterized in that a recess (16) is formed in the housing (4) and that the through-hole or through-holes (22) in B are arranged in the area of the recess (16), the plug being able to be arranged within the extensions of the housing.

Description

technical field

The invention relates to an electromotive drive unit for actuators in motor vehicles, in particular a drive unit of an electric parking brake, which has a housing and a control circuit board arranged in the housing, the housing having at least one through-hole for electrical contacting of the control circuit board.

State of the art

Drive units of the type mentioned are widely known in the prior art and are often used in motor vehicles, in particular as parking brake units, with the help of which a parking brake of the motor vehicle can be actuated by an electric motor.

Such electromotive drive units mostly have dust and moisture-proof housings and are equipped with control and regulation electronics, which are usually housed in the housing together with an electromotive drive. The electromotive drive usually has an electric motor, a gear that is operatively connected thereto, and a linear drive, for example in the form of a spindle drive. The linear drive is connected to an actuating cable that acts on the brake to be actuated.

The electrical contact to an external signal transmitter, which emits an actuation signal for the electromotive actuator, takes place via a cable that can be connected to the electromotive drive unit by means of a plug connection. Such a signal transmitter can be a control unit of the motor vehicle or, for example, a switch or another control element. To connect the cable to the electromotive actuator, a plug socket or plug is regularly formed on the housing of the electromotive actuator, which is electrically coupled to the control and/or regulating electronics housed on a control circuit board.

In known control boards, a plug or socket is manufactured as a separate unit and connected to the board, for example by providing recesses in the board into which a plug or socket unit with electrical contacts provided is inserted and soldered on the back.

The system known from the prior art has the disadvantage that the production of a corresponding control circuit board is expensive to produce due to the complex assembly of the plug or the socket on the control circuit board, since the assembly requires a large number of work steps. In addition, when soldering the plug or socket, special care must be taken to ensure that all soldered connections are properly made, otherwise the control board will be unusable.

Furthermore, soldered connections, especially in motor vehicles, have proven to be a source of defects, since the soldered connections can tear due to the vibrations that are unavoidable in vehicle operation due to the mechanical loads that occur, which leads to the failure of the electromotive actuator.

Parking brake drives are also installed in an area on the vehicle exterior where there is a risk of dust and splashing water. The known systems are difficult to seal, so that the functionality of the actuator endangering dirt and moisture can penetrate through the seal of the plug or socket into the interior of the housing.

Electric parking brakes are known from the prior art, for example from "Wallentowitz H., Reif, K.: Handbuch Kfz-Electronics, Wiesbaden: Vieweg 2006, ISBN-10 3-528-03971-X, page 127".

the DE 198 32 561 A1 describes a circuit unit for an electric motor, with circuit connection lines which interconnect electrical components which are mounted directly on the connection lines. The circuit unit has integrally molded contacts to mate with conductors of a control system and another set of contacts for connection to the motor. The contacts protrude into an access opening through which a plug connection can be made. The first contacts are picked up from the access opening to provide an opportunity for mating a mating connector to the contacts. On the other hand, there is no provision for a suitable plug connector to be able to be arranged within the device recesses. Rather, the access opening sits on top of the lid.

the DE 100 17 335 A1 discloses an electronic assembly with contacting elements arranged on a circuit carrier, with a housing surrounding the circuit carrier and with at least one plug connection integrated in the housing. In a recess of the housing is an insert having pin openings movably mounted. Through-holes are arranged at the height of the housing. In contrast, no recess is formed in the housing, in which the through-hole or the through-holes are arranged.

In the DE 102 29 606 A1 describes a method for producing electrical contact areas on printed circuit boards of actuators. Furthermore, this prior art discloses an actuator according to the preamble of claim 1 of the present application with contacting areas of contact lugs on a circuit board, with an electric drive that acts on an output and a housing accommodating the circuit board. Openings for accommodating and making electrical contact with the contact lugs are arranged in the printed circuit board and have press-in zones on the printed circuit board-side end area. It is not provided there that the connector can be arranged within the device dimensions. The disadvantage of this known electromotive drive unit is that it is not necessarily suitable for space-saving installation in a motor vehicle. In today's motor vehicle bar, the aim is to arrange auxiliary units, such as electromotive drive units for electric parking brakes, as compactly as possible in the motor vehicle.

From the EP 0 688 091 A1 a brushless permanent magnet motor is known with a capacitor connected to the input side of the power supply part of the motor controller. The capacitor acts as a lossless impedance, allowing low voltage operation for the motor controller. The connection area is not arranged inside the housing.

task

It is therefore the object of the invention to improve an electromotive actuator of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that it can be produced more cheaply and is less susceptible to defects.

Presentation of the invention

This object is achieved by an electromotive drive unit for actuators in motor vehicles according to claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

An electromotive drive unit according to the invention for actuators in motor vehicles has a housing and a control circuit board arranged in the housing, the housing having at least one through-hole for making electrical contact with the control circuit board. An electromotive drive unit according to the invention is particularly suitable as a drive unit for an electric parking brake.

In this case, contact elements are provided which protrude from the control circuit board and are dimensioned in such a way that they pass through the housing in the assembled state. In this way, particularly simple contacting is permitted, since the contact elements of the control circuit board protrude through the housing in the assembled state and can be contacted from the outside.

Furthermore, a socket or a plug collar for a plug to be plugged onto the contact elements is formed in or on the housing. In this way, the plug can be pre-positioned relative to the contact elements and incorrect contacting and damage to the contact elements can be prevented when the plug is plugged in.

Socket within the meaning of the invention is any type of receiving or guiding device for receiving a correspondingly designed plug.

The contact elements can preferably have the form of pins that protrude from the control board.

Since the contact elements protrude from the housing by reaching through the through-holes, a plug is regularly used which has receptacles for the contact elements but is otherwise designed as a plug. In this case, the socket or the plug collar can completely or partially surround the plug, for example as a guide wall or walls.

The socket or the plug collar is designed in one piece with the housing or is connected to the housing with a material connection. A one-piece design means that the relative position of the through-hole or through-holes and socket or connector collar is clearly defined in relation to one another during manufacture of the housing. In particular, if the housing is made of plastic and is produced in a primary shaping process, for example injection molding, low tolerances and thus reliable contacting of a plug to be plugged into the socket can be achieved.

If the socket or the plug collar is designed in two pieces with the housing and is connected to the housing with a material fit, this allows more freedom with regard to the design options for the housing. A two piece formation of socket or plug collar and housing allows for the provision of sockets or plug collars of different materials having matched properties. A particularly robust material can be selected for the housing and a more flexible material for the socket or plug collar, which achieves better sealing of the housing when the plug is plugged in.

Cohesive connections between socket or plug collar and housing can be made, for example, by gluing or ultrasonic welding.

According to an advantageous development, the socket or the plug collar has latching means which, with correspondingly designed counter-latching means of the plug when the plug is plugged in, ensure that the plug does not slip off unintentionally. This prevents malfunctions of the electromotive drive unit.

A preferred development of the invention provides that there is a through-hole in the housing for each contact element. As a result, the necessary housing opening can be reduced to the smallest possible size, since the through-holes can be adapted to the dimensions of the contact elements. Customary through-holes must be large enough for all contact elements to protrude through the through-hole. The free opening is much larger and therefore poses a greater risk of water or dirt entering.

In this way, a particularly high level of tightness of the housing and thus low susceptibility to dirt can be achieved. Due to the passage elements that can be adapted to the geometry of the contact elements, the contact elements are also laterally stabilized, which reduces the risk of damage to the contact elements when plugging in a plug.

A further advantage results when a recess or an indentation or constriction is formed in the housing and the through-hole or the through-holes are arranged in the area of the recess. In this way, a plug for contacting the electromotive drive unit can be arranged in the area of the recess, which enables a compact design in the motor vehicle, since the plug can be arranged within the housing extensions. Furthermore, in this way the control circuit board can be conveniently arranged inside the housing, so that the necessary length of the contact elements can be kept small.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing has a mounting surface and the through-hole or the through-holes are arranged on a surface opposite the mounting area.

Mounting surface within the meaning of the invention is not necessarily a surface with which the electromotive drive unit is fixed to the motor vehicle or parts of the motor vehicle, but a surface which is arranged adjacent to or adjacent to a counter surface of the motor vehicle.

The arrangement of the through-holes on a surface of the housing opposite the mounting surface ensures particularly easy assembly and electrical contacting of the electromotive drive unit, since the plug is then accessible when the electromotive drive unit is already assembled.

Different fastening variants can be used for fastening, for example screws or the like.

The electromotive drive unit is preferably equipped with an at least two-part housing with a housing cover in which the through-hole or through-holes are incorporated.

In the case of a recess or an indentation in the housing, the recess can preferably be formed in the housing cover, which enables the housing cover and the other housing parts, for example a housing base, to be manufactured in the original molding process, for example in the injection molding process.

Furthermore, if the through-hole or the through-holes are formed in the housing cover, the electromotive drive unit can be easily assembled, for example by installing all drive components and the control circuit board in a housing part designed as a housing floor and connecting them to one another accordingly and then putting on the housing cover with through-holes. so that in the case of the contact elements extending through the through-holes, the cover can be pushed onto the contact elements and then mounted.

According to a further advantageous development or variant of the invention, the contact elements are pressed into the housing and the through-holes are produced by pressing in the contact elements. This causes one particularly tight seal, since the through-holes with the contact elements form a press fit, zero fit or at most minimal clearance fit, so that the penetration of moisture into the housing is effectively prevented. In addition, the manufacture and transport of the control circuit board is simplified, since no protruding contact elements have to be provided there.

In this variant, it is preferably provided that the control circuit board has through-holes into or through which the contact elements engage or pass through in the mounted state. This enables secure contacting of the control board without the need to solder the connection.

The dimensions of the through-holes in the control circuit board preferably correspond to those of the contact elements perpendicular to the direction of insertion, as a result of which particularly reliable contacting can be achieved.

As an alternative to this, the control circuit board of the electromotive drive unit according to the invention has contact elements protruding from it. The contact elements can preferably have the form of pins that protrude from the control board. The contact elements can be connected to the control circuit board by being pushed through corresponding through-holes.

In this way, a simpler connection of a signaling cable to the electromotive drive unit can be implemented, since the assembly of a separate plug or a separate socket on the control circuit board becomes superfluous due to contact elements protruding from the control circuit board.

In addition, this increases the operational reliability and reduces the susceptibility to defects of the drive unit, since contact elements protruding from the control circuit board do not require a soldered connection.

A first advantageous development of the invention provides that the contact elements protruding from the control board are an integral part of the control board, for example as pins merging into conductor tracks of the control board. Control boards with integral, protruding contact elements can be produced inexpensively, since fewer work steps are required for the production of such integral contact elements than for the production of a control board with a separate plug or separate socket.

The contact elements preferably protrude essentially perpendicularly from a control board plane. As a rule, control circuit boards are flat, with a significantly smaller thickness than length and width. Vertically protruding contact elements have the advantage that they allow easy assembly of the control board in the housing and a plug on the contact elements. In addition, the assembly of the electromotive drive unit is simplified, since contacting through the at least one through-hole is easier when the contact elements are vertical.

Further goals, features and advantageous application possibilities of the invention result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings. All of the features described and/or illustrated in their meaningful combination form the subject matter of the present invention, also independently of the patent claims and their back-references.

character list

• 1 eine erfindungsgemäße elektromotorische Antriebseinheit in montiertem Zustand;
• 2 die elektromotorische Antriebseinheit aus 1 mit abgenommenem Deckel und ohne sonstige Antriebskomponenten;
• 3a eine Steuerplatine für die erfindungsgemäße Antriebseinheit sowie
• 3b ein Gehäuseboden mit montierter Steuerplatine.
• 4 ein vergrößerter Ausschnitt einer erfindungsgemäßen elektromotorischen Antriebseinheit gemäß einer ersten Variante sowie
• 5 ein vergrößerter Ausschnitt einer erfindungsgemäßen elektromotorischen Antriebseinheit gemäß einer zweiten Variante.

The invention is explained using an exemplary embodiment. Schematically show:

• 1 an inventive electromotive drive unit in the assembled state;
• 2 the electromotive drive unit 1 with cover removed and without other drive components;
• 3a a control board for the drive unit according to the invention and
• 3b a case back with mounted control board.
• 4 an enlarged section of an electromotive drive unit according to the invention according to a first variant and
• 5 an enlarged section of an electromotive drive unit according to the invention according to a second variant.

Presentation of the invention

1 shows an inventive electromotive drive unit 2, which is designed as a drive unit of an electric parking brake of a motor vehicle, in a schematic perspective view.

The drive unit 2 has a housing 4 with a housing base 6 and a housing cover 8 . The housing cover 8 is reinforced by introduced honeycomb structures.

The housing bottom 6 is used to hold and fix most of the drive components of the electromotive drive unit 2, including a motor, a gear, an actuator and a control board.

The housing base 6 also has a cable outlet 10 through which the correspondingly arranged actuator can be connected to the cable. If necessary, an outer cable can be accommodated in the area of the cable outlet 10 .

The drive unit according to the invention is equipped with an in 1 not visible subordinate mounting surface 12 mounted on a motor vehicle. For this purpose, 6 mounting brackets 14 are provided with holes in the housing base.

The housing 4 also has a recess or indentation 16 which is arranged in a corner of the housing and is cuboid in the illustrated exemplary embodiment. A plug socket or a plug collar 18 is provided in the recess 16 for accommodating and guiding a plug which is used for making electrical contact with the drive unit according to the invention.

Socket 18 and housing cover 8 are designed in two pieces and connected to one another in a form-fitting manner, for example by gluing. This results in a tight seal between the socket 18 and the housing cover 8, so that no moisture or dirt can penetrate through the contact area between the socket 18 and the housing cover 8.

The socket 18 is made of a plastic with a higher coefficient of elasticity than the housing 4, so that it nestles around the plug and results in a tight seal.

Several contact elements 20 can be seen in the interior of the socket 18, which protrude from the circuit board mounted inside the drive unit 2, as shown in FIG 3a shown. The contact elements 20 pass through the housing 4 of the drive unit 2 through a respective through-hole 22 in the housing cover 8 for each contact element 20.

The through-holes 22 are arranged on a surface 24 opposite the mounting surface 12 .

2 shows the drive unit 2 according to the invention with the cover 8 removed.

The housing base 6 has mounting points 26 for mounting a control board with protruding contact elements, which allows the control board to be positioned exactly in the housing base 6 . Furthermore, 6 positioning and assembly elements 28 are provided in the housing base, which are used to assemble the electrical and mechanical components such as motor, gear and spindle drive.

By placing the cover 8 on the housing base 6, a tight seal of the interior of the housing can be achieved.

3a shows a control circuit board 30 for mounting in the housing 4 or in the housing base 6. The control circuit board has electrical control elements (not shown), such as microprocessors, capacitors, etc. A plurality of contact elements 20 protrude essentially perpendicularly to the surface 32 on the visible upper side 32 of the control circuit board 30 . The contact elements 20 lead to conductor tracks (not shown) on the control circuit board 30.

A plurality of bores 36 are provided in the circuit board 30 in order to fasten the circuit board 30 in the housing floor 6 .

3b shows the circuit board 30 in the installed state in the housing base 6.

4 shows an enlarged exploded view of the drive unit 2 according to the invention in an opposite to 1 until 3b upside down exploded view. The contact elements 20 are pushed through the control circuit board 30 and make contact with conductor tracks arranged on the control circuit board 30 . Housing base 6 and housing cover 8 are locked together by locking means 40 and correspondingly designed counter-locking means.

Further latching means 42 are arranged on the socket 18, with which a plug to be plugged onto the socket can also be latched.

5 shows an alternative variant of a drive unit 2' according to the invention. For the sake of simplicity, components that are the same or have the same effect are provided with the same reference symbols. In contrast to the previously described embodiment, the contact elements 22 are incorporated in the cover 8 here. Through-holes 44 are provided in the control circuit board 30', through which the contact elements 22 pass during assembly. The through-holes 44 are held by your dimensions in such a way that the Kon clock elements 20 must be easily pressed into the through-holes 44.

The contact elements 20 come to rest in the area of the recess 16 . During assembly of the housing cover 8 , the through-holes 22 arranged in the housing cover 8 in the region of the recess 16 are pushed over the contact elements 20 .

Reference List

2, 2'

Drive unit/parking brake unit

4

housing

6

caseback

8th

housing cover

10

cable exit

12

mounting surface

14

mounting tab

16

Rebound/Retraction/Indentation

18

socket

20

contact elements

22

through holes

24

surface

26

assembly points

28

Positioning and assembly elements

30, 30'

control board

32

top of the control board

36

drilling

40

locking means

42

locking means

44

through hole

Claims (8)

Electromotive drive unit for actuators in motor vehicles, having a housing (4) and a control circuit board (30) arranged in the housing (4), the housing (4) having at least one through-hole (22) for making electrical contact with the control circuit board (30), wherein the control circuit board (30) has contact elements (20) for contacting the control circuit board (30) by means of a plug to be plugged onto the drive unit (2), which are arranged protruding in a straight line from the control circuit board (30) and are dimensioned in such a way that they have a socket or a plug collar (18), which is designed for a plug to be plugged onto the contact elements (20), whereby the socket or the plug collar (18) is designed in one piece with the housing (4) or is connected to the housing (4) in a materially bonded manner, thereby characterized in that in the housing (4) a recess (16) is formed and that the through-hole or through-holes (22) in Area of the recess (16) are arranged, wherein the plug can be arranged within the housing extensions. Electromotive drive unit after claim 1 , characterized in that one through-hole (22) is provided in the housing (4) for each contact element (20). Electromotive drive unit after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the housing (4) has a mounting surface (12) and the through-hole or through-holes (22) are arranged on a surface (24) opposite the mounting surface (12). Electromotive drive unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (4) is constructed in at least two parts with a housing cover (8) into which the through-hole or through-holes (22) are incorporated. Electromotive drive unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact elements (20) are pressed into the housing (4) and the through-holes (22) are produced by pressing in the contact elements (20). Electromotive drive unit according to one of Claims 1 until 5 , characterized in that the contact elements (20) are an integral part of the control circuit board (30). Electromotive drive unit according to one of Claims 1 until 6 , characterized in that the contact elements (20) protrude substantially perpendicularly from a control board plane (30). Electromotive drive unit according to one of Claims 1 until 7 , characterized in that it is the drive unit of an electric parking brake.

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