EP1552095A1

EP1552095A1 - Device for adjusting a motor driven part

Info

Publication number: EP1552095A1
Application number: EP03794764A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Samir Mahfoudh; Rainer Berger
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2002-09-10
Filing date: 2003-06-17
Publication date: 2005-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 2023-06-17
Also published as: WO2004025061A1; EP1552095B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and to a method for adjusting a motor driven part, especially a moveable part (10, 48, 64, 68, 73) arranged in a vehicle, comprising a control unit (30, 74) and a pressure sensor (20) which recognizes touch by an object (32) and transmits a signal (26) to the control unit (30,74) in order to affect the movement of said part (10, 48, 64, 68, 72) . The pressure sensor (20) has a wireless external power supply and the signal (26) can be transmitted in a contactless manner to a receiver (28) of the control unit (30, 74).

Description

Device for adjusting a motor-driven part

State of the art

The invention relates to a device and a method for adjusting a motor-driven, in particular arranged on a vehicle movable

Partly according to the genus of the independent claims.

DE 199 13 106 Cl has disclosed a trap protection system with a hollow profile for a power-operated locking device, in which a clamping strip formed as a hollow profile is along a frame, for example one

Sunroof opening is arranged. The hollow profile has two electrically conductive areas spaced apart from one another, which contact one another by the action of an external force on the hollow profile, for example by means of an object. This electrical contact triggers a switching process to control the motor of the locking device. The hollow profile represents a pressure sensor that has electrical connections with a

Control device is connected, which both provides the energy supply to the sensor and evaluates the sensor signals.

A disadvantage of such a sensor system is that the pressure sensor must always be connected to the control / evaluation unit by means of supply and / or signal lines. This wiring is particularly complex, particularly in the motor vehicle, when the sensor is arranged on inaccessible, transparent or moving parts. Advantages of the invention

The device according to the invention and the method according to the invention with the features of the independent claims has the advantage that a pressure sensor can be arranged at any point in the motor vehicle without any wiring.

The sensor signal is transmitted contactlessly to a control unit, which can be arranged at any convenient location, for example in a central control unit. Since the sensor has neither an internal energy source nor connecting lines to an external energy supply, the monitoring and maintenance of the energy supply of the sensor is omitted. The device or method according to the invention is particularly suitable for arranging the sensor on a moving part, since flexible connection lines between the pressure sensor and the control unit which are particularly susceptible to faults can be dispensed with here. In addition, the cabling also eliminates the relatively fault-prone and expensive plug connections to the sensor. With such direct anti-trap protection, there is no need for complex evaluation electronics, such as are necessary in indirect anti-trap protection systems for monitoring the parameters representing the closing force.

The features listed in the dependent claims are advantageous

Further developments of the device according to the invention are possible. If the sensor for detecting a pressure has piezoelectric or electroactive polymer (EAP) material, a reliable pressure sensor signal can be generated in a simple manner at low manufacturing costs.

Such materials are sometimes commercially available as thin layers or foils and can be processed very easily and attached in any position. For example, such film strips can also be glued to different materials, such as glass or metal, so that they are barely visible.

In a special embodiment, such a pressure sensor has a transmitter which is integrated in the film material and transmits the sensor signal to the control unit without contact. The sensor is activated by the voltage generated by an external pressure on the film. The control unit for the motor drive has at least one receiver to which the sensor signal is transmitted, whereupon an appropriate command can be sent to the motor drive after appropriate signal processing.

In a further embodiment, the pressure sensor has a surface wave (SAW) component, as a result of which no explicit transmitter need be arranged on the pressure sensor. The SAW component can be read out by radio, is insensitive to electromagnetic radiation, heat or mechanical stress and has a very long service life. Such a pressure sensor is practically maintenance-free.

It is advantageous if the pressure sensor with the SAW component is arranged within a pressure chamber, since the pressure-sensitive region can then be expanded as desired by means of the shape of the pressure chamber.

In another embodiment, the transmitter and the receiver can be considered as one

The unit in the control unit can be arranged, for example, on a printed circuit board, and the sensor signal can thus be queried at arbitrarily definable times.

The pressure sensor can advantageously be arranged on the closing edges of the movable part or its frame, for example in order to provide an anti-trap system

To make available. The jamming of objects in the range of motion of rotatably arranged parts, such as doors, flaps or tilting windows, can also be effectively detected.

In another application, the pressure sensor of any shape serves as

Operating switch by means of which the moving part can be operated.

If such a pressure sensor is arranged in the adjustment path or in the end positions of an adjustment element, the position of the adjustment element can thus be monitored and, depending on its position, further operating commands may be transmitted to the control unit.

With the device according to the invention, a method according to the invention for adjusting moving parts in the motor vehicle can advantageously be carried out, in which a pressure sensor is operated without connecting lines and without an internal energy source and a sensor signal is transmitted wirelessly to a receiver. drawing

Exemplary embodiments of a device according to the invention are shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 a to 1 c show a device for adjusting a motor vehicle side window,

FIG. 2 shows a device for adjusting a sunroof,

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of the method according to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows the different arrangement options of a pressure sensor according to the invention,

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of a pressure sensor on a pane,

FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of a pressure sensor on a door edge,

Figure 7 shows the use of the pressure sensor as a button and

Figure 8 shows the arrangement of pressure sensors in a lock.

FIG. 1 shows a side window of a motor vehicle, with a window pane 10 as a movable part 10 and a frame profile 12 surrounding a window opening 11. The window pane 10 is adjusted electrically by means of an electric motor 14 via a mechanism 16. Arranged along an edge 18 of the window pane 10 is a pressure sensor 20, which is essentially a piezoelectric or electroactive

Includes polymer (EAP) film. Furthermore, the pressure sensor 20 has a transmitter 24 for transmitting a sensor signal 26 to a receiver 28, which in the exemplary embodiment is arranged in a control unit 30 of the electric motor 14. The film 22 is preferably glued onto the upper edge 18 as a commercially available PVDF or EAP layer. The film strip 22, which can be positioned at any position, contains the transmitter 24. The transmitter 20 is designed, for example, as an ASIC and arranged on the film 22 or integrated into it. If an external pressure 46 acts on the pressure sensor 20, for example when an object 32 is clamped between the part 10 and the frame profile 12, an electrical voltage is generated due to the mechanical tension in the film 22 by means of the piezoelectric or electroactive material properties. With the help of this voltage, the transmitter 24 is activated and that

Sensor signal 26 transmitted as a radio signal to the receiver 28. The sensor signal 26 is then evaluated in the control unit 30 and, when a jamming of an object 32 is detected, the adjusting motor 14 is actuated in order to stop or reverse the movable part 10. Such a direct anti-trap system is insensitive to false tripping in the event of bumps in the road or jamming of the moving parts 10 due to external influences such as icing and dirt or tolerance effects of the overall system. With such direct pinch protection, there is no need for complex evaluation electronics for monitoring the parameters representing the closing force.

FIG. 1b shows a top view of the side window 10, in which the pressure sensor 20 extends approximately over the entire length of the edge 18. The transmitter 24 is integrated in the piezoelectric or electroactive polymer material 21.

Figure lc shows an electric motor drive 14 for adjusting the movable

Part 10 with a control unit 30, the receiver 28 being arranged on a printed circuit board 34 and being designed, for example, as an ASIC component.

FIG. 2 shows an electrically operated sunroof as a movable part 10 with a frame profile 12 and an electric motor 14. A piezo film 22 is arranged along the edge 18 of the sunroof 10 and has a transmitter 24 at one end, which is preferably designed as an ASIC component , Such a pressure sensor 20 can be used to detect the jamming of an obstacle 32 over the entire width of the sliding roof 10 and to transmit a sensor signal 26 to the control unit 30 of the electric motor 14 by radio in order to reverse the direction of movement of the movable part 10. FIG. 3 shows the functional diagram of a further exemplary embodiment, in which a pressure sensor 20 has a surface wave (SAW) component 40, by means of which the pressure sensor 20 is designed to be radio-readable. Here, the transmitter 24, together with the receiver 28, is spatially separated from the sensor 20 - without connecting lines to it. For example, the transmitter 24 and the receiver 28 are combined in an interrogation unit 42 in the control unit 30. The pressure sensor 20 with the SAW component 40 has no internal energy supply and also has no connections for energy supply. Rather, the SAW component 40 is by means of

Radio waves of the transmitter 24 are excited and send back a radio wave modulated with the sensor signal 26 from the receiver 28. The SAW component 40 is designed, for example, as a piezoelectric crystal which, when a radio 78 is received, converts an incoming surface wave into an electrical voltage due to the piezo effect, and again excites a surface wave for transmission to the receiver 28.

Depending on the load on the piezoelectric crystal 40 by the external pressure 46, the radio wave 78 is modulated with the corresponding sensor signal 26 when it is queried. This modulated signal 26 is processed in the query unit 42 and, for example, when a certain limit value is exceeded, an actuating command is given to the drive unit 14 to stop or reverse the movable part 10. The broadcast

Depending on the distance to the sensor 20 and the required transmission / reception power, the reception unit 42 has an appropriately dimensioned antenna 44. Correspondingly, the pressure sensor 20 can also have an antenna 41 which transmits the radio waves 78 to the SAW component 40. The pressure sensor 20 is a passive component that is supplied with energy exclusively via the radio wave 78 and has no connections for the transmission of the sensor signal 26. In addition to its function as a pressure sensor 20, SAW component 40 can also be used as a temperature sensor, since the piezoelectric crystal also changes its internal structure due to the ambient temperature, and thereby the radiated radio wave 78 with a corresponding sensor signal 26 - in this case a temperature signal - modulated.

FIG. 4 shows various possible arrangements for the pressure sensor 20, which in each case transmits a sensor signal 26 to a control unit 30 of a servomotor 14 in a contactless manner, with different functionalities. The sensors 50 and 52 are arranged on the edge 18 of the window pane 10 and correspond, for example, to those

Pressure sensors 20 from FIGS. 1 and 2 for realizing an anti-trap protection. On - 1 -

further pressure sensor 56 extends over an edge 63 of a rotatably arranged part 64 - for example a door - which can be actuated by means of a motor drive 14. Further pressure sensors 58 and 60 are designed as operating elements 66 and are arranged on or next to a movable part 10, for example on a door handle 68. As a further possibility, a pressure sensor 62 is arranged in a lock 70 in order to detect the position of actuating elements 72. A sensor 50 is integrated, for example, on an exterior mirror 48 in order to adjust it by motor when an obstacle is touched. A sensor, not shown, is arranged on an edge 18 of a motor-movable folding roof 10 in order to indicate that an obstacle 32 has been pinched or that a closed / open position has been reached. The

Sensor signals 26 of all sensors 50 to 62 can be queried by means of the interrogation unit 62, which is arranged in a central control unit 74, without the need for connecting lines to the sensors 50 to 62. Based on the sensor signals 26, setting commands can then be given to the drive units 14 in order to influence the movement of the moving parts 10, 48, 64, 72. The central

Control unit 74 is connected, for example, to a BUS system 75 of the motor vehicle. In one embodiment, the sensors 50 to 62 can also have their own transmitters 24, which are activated via a voltage that is generated in the piezoelectric or electroactive polymer material 21. In this embodiment, only one receiver 28 is arranged in the central control device 74. If such a generated voltage is not sufficient to operate the transmitter 24 in the sensor 50 to 62, a further energy supply (e.g. battery or vehicle electrical system connection) can be provided, which is switched on by the generated voltage (alarm function).

FIG. 5 shows a further variation of a pressure sensor 20 on an edge 18 of a movable part 10. The pressure sensor 20 here has a pressure chamber 76, which preferably extends along the edge 18 and within which an SAW component 40 is arranged. The pressure chamber 76 leads to a uniform pressure sensitivity over the entire length of the edge 18, the

Pressure loading of the pressure chamber 76 is transmitted to the SAW component 40. The sensor signal 26 can then again be read out of the pressure sensor 20 in a contactless manner by means of a radio wave 78. The radio wave 78 sent by the interrogation unit 42 and the interrogated sensor signal 26 are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5 as waves. FIG. 6 shows the same type of sensor as FIG. 5, the pressure chamber 76 here extending over the edge 63 of, for example, a door 64. If, when the door 64 is closed, there is an object 32 between the edge 63 and the frame profile 12, here for example the B-pillar of the motor vehicle, a sensor signal 26 is transmitted wirelessly to the control unit 30 which, in the case of a door closing aid, detects the direction of movement of the motorized tilting or sliding door 64 reversed.

In FIG. 7, the pressure sensor 20 or 60 is arranged on a door handle 68 or at a specific point on the outer skin of the body (eg recessed grip), on which pressure 46 is exerted on the pressure sensor 20, for example by manual actuation. The latter then transmits a sensor signal 26 contactlessly to a control unit 30, which initiates a motorized adjustment of the door 64 or another movable part 10, such as a trunk or trunk lid. The pressure sensor 20 can also be arranged such that it detects a deformation of the door handle 68 due to an external force 46.

Figure 8 shows the use of the pressure sensors 62 for detecting the position of actuating elements 72, for example a door lock 70. The pressure sensors 62 are arranged such that when the actuating elements 72 are adjusted by means of electric motors 14, the actuators 72 exert a pressure 46 on the pressure sensors 20 as soon as the

Actuators 72 have reached a predetermined position which corresponds to the spatial arrangement of the pressure sensors 20. Thereupon a sensor signal 26 is transmitted to the control unit 30 of the electric motors 14 or to the central control device 74, for example in order to end the adjustment process or to initiate a subsequent movement process. When using SAW components 40 as

On the other hand, sensors 50 to 62 are queried over the entire time (for example in pulse mode) the state of the sensor by means of the query unit 42. Such position detection sensors 62 make it possible to dispense with complex microswitches or Hall sensors, in which process-technically demanding contacting between the sensor elements 62 and the control unit 30 is always necessary. The

Pressure sensors 62 can also be used particularly advantageously in the wet area, for example on a striker or rotary latch as a "door-closed sensor (Ajar switch)". In this case, no connecting lines in the wet area with a necessary seal are necessary. All applications have in common that the sensor signal 26 is always transmitted as a radio signal to the control unit 30 and the pressure sensor 20 is supplied with energy by means of radio wave 78 or by means of mechanical deformation of a piezoelectric or electroactive material 21. The invention is not limited to the adjustment of moving parts 10, 48, 64, 72 in the motor vehicle. Movable parts on machines or buildings, such as pressing tools or gates, can also be equipped with a pressure sensor 20. Furthermore, the invention also encompasses individual features of the exemplary embodiments or any combination of the features of different exemplary embodiments. Applications are also possible in which the sensor 20 can be used as a temperature sensor, as a contactless position sensor (identification) or for torque and speed detection. Such sensor elements can, for example, also be arranged on rotating parts 10, in particular an armature shaft of an electric motor, in order to transmit their temperature, torque or rotational speed without contact to a control unit 30, 74. In this way, e.g. B. the speed of an actuator in the motor vehicle can be determined in order to realize an anti-trap function.

Claims

Expectations

1. Device for adjusting a motor-driven, in particular arranged on a vehicle, movable part (10, 48, 64, 68, 72), with a control unit (30, 74) and a pressure sensor (20) which is in contact with an object (32) detects, and a signal (26) to the control unit (30, 74) forwards the movement of the part

(20, 48, 64, 68, 72), characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) has a wireless external energy supply and the signal (26) can be transmitted contactlessly to a receiver (28) of the control unit (30, 74).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) comprises a piezzoelectric or electroactive polymer (EAP) material (21).

3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the material (21) is designed as a film (22), when deformed, a voltage is generated.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) has a transmitter (24) - in particular in the form of an ASIC - which is activated by the generated voltage.

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (30) is associated with an adjusting drive (14) and has a printed circuit board (34) on which a receiver (28) and / or a transmitter (24) - in particular in the form of an ASIC - is arranged.

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) is radio-readable and has a surface wave (SAW) component (40).

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the

Surface waves (SAW) component (40) is arranged within a pressure chamber (76).

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the control unit (30) the transmitter (24) and receiver (28) as a query unit

(42) are formed which excites the pressure sensor (20) by means of radio waves (78) and receives a radio wave modulated with the (26) from the latter.

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) substantially along an edge (18, 63) of the part (20, 48,

64, 68, 72) - in particular a window pane, a door, a sliding roof cover or a folding roof - and / or a frame profile (12) delimiting an opening and if an obstacle (32) occurs in the adjustment path of the part (20, 48, 64, 68, 72) whose movement is stopped or reversed.

10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) is designed as a manually operable button - for example on a door handle (68) - by means of which the adjusting drive (14) of the part (20, 48, 64, 68, 72) can be controlled.

11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) is arranged in the adjustment range of locking elements (72), in particular a lock, in order to detect their position.

12. Method for adjusting a motor-driven part (20, 64, 68, 72) arranged on a vehicle, with a control unit (30, 74) and a pressure sensor (20), its contact being detected by an object (32) and a signal (26) is forwarded to the control unit (30, 74) to influence the movement of the part (20, 48, 64, 68, 72), characterized in that the pressure sensor (20) wirelessly supplies external energy is and the signal (26) contactless to one

Receiver (28) of the control unit (30) is transmitted.