EP3604705B1 - Device for limiting the displacement of drives - Google Patents

Description

According to the preamble of claim 1, the invention relates to a device for limiting the adjustment path of at least one of two or more drives of a shading device, the device having the two or more drives, of which at least one drives the shading device, the two drives having elements or degrees of freedom drive elements whose positioning paths overlap, and means for detecting and limiting the positioning path are provided for at least one of the drives, which prevent an element from being adjusted into a position in which another element is already located.

Such devices are, for example, by the EP 3 196 379 A1 known from the prior art. As a rule, a position is detected by position switches, it also being known to monitor the motor currents for position detection. For example, in the case of a slatted roof, the two drives for turning and moving can be mutually locked to prevent damage to the Mechanics to avoid collision of adjacent slats. For this purpose, a central control is provided in a housing on the slatted roof, which must be wired to the limit switches and all drives. In addition to the increased space requirement, the additional parts to be installed result in costs and time during assembly.

It is also disadvantageous that the system has to be set precisely during assembly and subsequent corrections or adjustments are no longer possible if, for example, components of the system in the area of the drives or elements that are adjusted by the drives are to be exchanged. Tolerances on site can no longer be easily compensated either.

the U.S. 2018/187447 A1 shows wireless communication for controlling two parasols.

The object of the invention is to provide a collision avoidance system for drive systems that can be integrated into a shading device with less effort than previously.

Main features of the invention are set out in the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous configurations are the subject of claims 2 to 14.

According to the invention, the object is achieved by a device of the type mentioned at the outset, in which at least one of the drives has an internal position detector and a communication link is provided between the drives, which transmits the position detected to the other drive, the communication link being wireless as a radio link - or infrared connection or as a data connection via power supply lines that are already present (Powerline Communication PLC), with an evaluation and control unit assigned to this drive limiting the travel of this drive in such a way that a collision with the other element is prevented.

Depending on the arrangement of the shading device, it may be sufficient for only one of the drives to detect the position, with the detected position then being passed on to the other drive or drives via the communication link so that it locks for safety reasons or in its adjustment path can be limited. The central control for both drives can be omitted since the evaluation and control unit takes over its function for the drive assigned to it. The drive is therefore connected directly to the supply network, wiring all drives to a central controller is no longer necessary.

If all drives have their own evaluation and control unit, the central control can also be omitted entirely and only one connection to a power supply is required.

An embodiment is particularly preferred in which both or all drives have an evaluation and control unit with position detection and the communication connection is bidirectional, so that the two drives or all drives exchange their actual positions and, if necessary, their adjustment paths to these actual positions are customizable.

This enables continuous monitoring of the positions so that a collision between elements adjusted by the drives can be avoided under all circumstances. For example, in a correspondingly monitored system, a first drive can act on a curtain of the shading device as an element and the second drive can act on an adjustable building element. In this way it is possible to prevent a sun protection curtain from colliding with an electrically adjustable window or ventilation element. For example, the first drive can drive a textile shading device and the second drive can drive a door or window element whose movement path can be adjusted, in which case the textile shading device can be a conservatory awning that can be coupled to the second drive in the adjustment path of a hinged window of a conservatory is, is movable.

In the same way, two sun protection curtains that can be adjusted independently of one another and their drives can be protected from collisions if these two shading devices are to alternately cover an area.

Instead of two elements that can be adjusted completely independently of one another, the two drives can also drive different degrees of freedom of a single shading device. For example, the first drive can control the extension length of a slatted roof or curtain, while the second drive adjusts the inclination of the parallel Lamellae is responsible. This prevents the tilt adjustment of the slats from being activated when the slat roof is retracted, while conversely it should not be possible to retract the slat roof when the slats are in the closed position. In this case, it is prevented that coupled elements assigned to a single sun protection device, in this case the slats, can collide with one another in certain curtain positions.

Such slat roofs form, for example, parts of self-supporting constructions for outdoor use.

A simple concept for limiting the adjustment path can provide for the other drive to be locked via the radio link when a limit position of at least one drive is reached.

Applied to a conservatory awning already mentioned, which is driven by a first drive, and a hinged window arranged underneath and adjustable by the second drive, this means that with a bidirectional design of the communication link, the drive of the winter awning can no longer be operated when the hinged window is in the open position with its drive. Conversely, the drive of the hinged window is locked when the fabric of the conservatory awning is extended. However, less restrictive locks are also possible here, e.g. in the case of a hinged window arranged in the edge area of the winter garden, the winter garden awning can no longer be extended completely, but only up to a desired safety distance from the hinged window. This means that the drive of the conservatory awning is not completely locked, only the extension of the fabric is limited.

In an additional or alternative embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the maximum adjustment path of at least one drive is continuously adapted to the actual position of the other drive in each case via the radio connection and the evaluation unit. In this way, the adjustment path can be adapted to the actual situation, so that there is still a maximum adjustment possibility for the respective drive under all operating conditions.

Such a design is particularly advantageous, for example, in the case of a window or roof area that can be optionally shaded with two different hangings that are driven by assigned separate drives. In the case of the slatted roof already mentioned, the use of this concept also offers an advantage in that the maximum inclination of the slats is limited depending on the extension length of the slatted roof. When the roof is fully extended, the full adjustment range between the horizontal, complete shading position and the vertical, maximum open slat position can be available, which, however, decreases continuously up to the completely retracted roof position, so that in this position itself adjustment from the tilted position provided there is no longer possible is.

A further, special embodiment of the invention provides that a freely programmable data memory is assigned to at least one evaluation unit, in which data for limiting the travel of the assigned drive can be stored as a function of position signals from the other drive.

Freely programmable means that the software allows an intervention with which the system can be adapted to the respective conditions around the shading device and the two drives. For example, a conservatory awning with a correspondingly programmable data memory can initially be delivered without restriction specifications, while then, when it is installed in the object, a corresponding software-side adjustment can be made to a hinged window provided in the conservatory, whose position has not yet been determined during the manufacture of the conservatory awning and its drive was known. A simple adjustment to tolerances on site is also possible.

In order to ensure functional reliability under all circumstances, it can be advantageous for the communication link between the two drives to be redundant and/or designed with a plausibility check function that checks the functionality of the position monitoring. If an error occurs, one or both drives can then be locked or limited in their travel, so that a collision of the drives or the elements driven by them is avoided under all circumstances.

The communication connection is set up wirelessly as a radio or infrared connection or as a data connection via power supply lines that are already present (Powerline Communication PLC).

While the device described above can basically be adapted to any type of motor-driven shading device, a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the drives each have a radio interface in addition to an evaluation and control unit, which, in addition to the position signals of the other drive in each case, also has Evaluate operator control signals sent by radio remote controls for drive control. In the same way, for example, power line communication with conventional control elements can also be used.

Such embodiments combine the features of the invention with the usual properties of a system remote control and use - as far as possible - the hardware equipment. The position signals from another drive are then evaluated using special software and used when controlling the relevant drive to limit the adjustment path, if necessary.

An adaptation of the limit as a result of conversion or repair measures is also possible without further ado and without major intervention in the shading device itself, while in the previously known systems it was then necessary to install new position switches with associated wiring in the system.

• Fig. 1 ein schematisches Schaubild von Antrieben eines Lamellendaches nach dem Stand der Technik;
• Fig. 2 ein Schaubild einer weiteren Ausführungsform von Antrieben eines Lamellendaches mit Positionsschaltern ;
• Fig. 3 ein Schaubild einer erfindungsgemäßen Ausführungsform von Antrieben eines Lamellendaches;
• Fig. 4 ein Schaubild einer geringfügig abgewandelten Ausführungsform der Erfindung.

In the following, the state of the art is first described in more detail with reference to the attached diagrams and then exemplary embodiments of the invention are discussed. Show it:

• 1 a schematic diagram of drives of a slat roof according to the prior art;
• 2 a diagram of a further embodiment of drives of a lamellar roof with position switches;
• 3 a diagram of an embodiment according to the invention of drives of a slat roof;
• 4 a diagram of a slightly modified embodiment of the invention.

Core of the two drive devices 100 according to the prior art, as shown in Fig.1 and 2 are outlined is a centrally located controller 110 which is connected to a power supply 112 . The central controller 110 is connected via connecting lines 114, 116 to a first drive 118, which adjusts the extension length of a slatted roof (not shown), and with connected to a second drive 120, which is used to adjust the inclination of the slats. The controls can each be operated by the user via connected buttons or a coupled remote control and can communicate with these devices and also with the two drives 118, 120 via a bus system. The bus system and associated hardware are shown schematically as black box 122 .

Since both drives 118, 120 cannot be moved arbitrarily into all positions without - in the example described here - there being a collision between adjacent slats of the slatted roof, position detection for the two drives in the form of encoders 124, 126, 128, 130 (in simple cases only limit switches) or a current detection provided that detects an increase in the supply current of a motor 132, 134 when approaching a stop (not shown) in an end position. The corresponding position signals are communicated to the controller 110 via the supply lines as a bus signal or as a simple current increase. If necessary, electronic switch-off devices 138, 140 can be provided in the drives 118, 120, which switch off the respective drive when the end position is reached. The defeat devices do not have any further control function. Controller 110 takes into account the presence of certain position information and deactivates, for example, drive 120 for adjusting the slat inclination when the slat roof is in the retracted end position or drive 118 for adjusting the extended length of the slat roof if the slats are in a horizontal position when the roof is in the extended state are in the closed position.

In fig, 2 An additional wiring 136 is shown, which is required if the signals from the respective position sensors 128, 130 cannot be passed on to the central controller via the supply lines. This is particularly the case when the encoders are located remotely from the motor 134, as in FIG 2 Drive 120 shown below is illustrated.

In Figures 3 and 4 two very similar exemplary embodiments of drive devices 1, 2 according to the invention are shown. First of all, their characteristic is that a single central controller does not take over the activation of several motors 32, 34, but these each have their own evaluation and control unit 10, 11. The two drives are connected to a power supply 12, separate connection lines between a central controller and the drives can be omitted. As there is no longer any central control, it is necessary that the evaluation and control units 10, 11 receive the necessary position information directly and, when controlling the two drives 18, 20, take into account the position of the slats with regard to the inclination and extension length of the slat roof.

For this purpose, it is provided that in this exemplary embodiment both drives have sensors 24, 26 for detecting the position of at least the end position of the adjustment paths of the two drives 18, 20. These communicate with one another via radio links 36, so that the respective actual positions are exchanged between the evaluation and control units 10, 11 and are available in the respective other drive. There, the evaluation and control unit 10, 11 can then determine the permissible adjustment path of its associated drive based on the position of the other drive and thus avoid collisions of the actuating elements, here the slats. Instead of the radio connection, any other type of data communication can also be selected, for example an infrared connection or power line communication via the supply network. If a specific communication system for controlling the drives is provided by the user, for example a radio remote control 40, as in the embodiments according to FIG Figures 3 and 4 or a power line communication, in which the operating elements communicate their data to the drives via the supply lines, the corresponding hardware can also be used to set up the data connection between the drives 18, 20.

This in 4 shown embodiment largely corresponds to the drive device 1 from 3 , However, in accordance with this drive device 2 4 both evaluation and control units 10, 11 integrated into the respective drive 18, 20. This variant is generally preferred when, for example, two drives 18, 20 to be coordinated are provided in a sun protection system such as a slatted roof. However, the evaluation and control unit can also be implemented remotely from the drive, for example in the case of a home control system with openable windows in a conservatory, over which a shading device with an integrated drive is provided. It is also possible to network a drive of a shading device with a central control of a separate system in order to coordinate the movement sequences, the main difference from the prior art being that the drives to be coordinated no longer have to be controlled via a central control.

The invention is not limited to one of the embodiments described above, but can be modified in many ways. For example, more than two drives can exchange data with each other and limit each other's travel ranges or lock each other completely. In the context of the exemplary embodiments already mentioned, this can relate, for example, to another hinged window in a conservatory or the arrangement of a slatted roof that can be adjusted in two degrees of freedom with two drives over a winter garden with one or more hinged windows with separate drives which, when open, extend into the adjustment range of the slats of the Louvered roof can protrude.

Reference List

1

drive device

2

drive device

10

Evaluation and control unit

11

Evaluation and control unit

12

power supply

18, 20

drive

22

data/radio interface

24, 26

Encoder/position detection

32, 34

Engines

36

Communications/Radio Connections

40

radio remote control

100

Antriebsvorrichtung

110

zentrale Steuerung

112

Stromversorgung

114, 116

Anschlussleitungen

118, 120

Antriebe

122

Hardware (Blackbox)

124, 126

Geber/Positionserfassung

128, 130

Geber/Positionserfassung

132, 134

Motoren

136

Zusatzverkabelung

138, 140

elektronische Abschalteinrichtungen

State of the art:

100

drive device

110

central control

112

power supply

114, 116

connection lines

118, 120

drives

122

hardware (black box)

124, 126

Encoder/position detection

128, 130

Encoder/position detection

132, 134

Engines

136

additional wiring

138, 140

electronic shutdown devices

Claims (13)

1. Device for limiting the displacement of at least one of two or more drives (18, 20) of a shading device which has the two or more drives (18, 20), of which at least one drives a shading device, wherein the two drives (18, 20) drive elements or degrees of freedom of elements, the displacements of which overlap, and means for detecting and limiting the displacement of respectively at least one of the drives (18, 20) are provided which prevent an adjustment of an element into a position in which a respective other element is already located, characterised in that at least one of the drives (18, 20) has an internal position detection device (24, 26) and a direct communication connection (36) between the drives (18, 20) is provided which transmits wirelessly the detected position to the respectively other drive (18, 20), wherein the communication connection is constructed wirelessly as a radio or infrared connection or as a data connection via power supply lines which are present anyway (Powerline Communication PLC),
   wherein an evaluation and control unit (10, 11) assigned to this drive (18, 20) limits the displacement of this drive (18, 20) such that a collision with the respectively other element is prevented.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that both or all drives (18, 20) have an evaluation and control unit (10, 11) with a position detection and the communication connection(s) (36) is/are bidirectional, such that both or all drives (18, 20) exchange their actual positions and their adjustment paths can be adapted thereto where required.
3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that when a limit position of at least one drive (18, 20) is reached, a locking of the other drive (18, 20) is carried out via the communication connection (36).
4. Device according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that via the communication connection (36) and the evaluation and control unit (10, 11) a continuous adaptation takes place of the maximum displacement of at least one drive (18, 29) to the actual position of the respectively other drive (18, 20).
5. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that a freely programmable data store is assigned to at least one evaluation and control unit (10, 11), in which data can be stored for limiting the displacement of the assigned drive (18, 20) depending on positional signals of the other drive (18, 20).
6. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that a first drive can act on a hanging of the shading device as an element and the second drive can act on a displaceable building element.
7. Device according to claim 6, characterised in that the first drive can drive a textile shading device and the second drive can drive a door or window element which can be opened into its path of movement.
8. Device according to claim 7, characterised in that the textile shading device is a winter awning which can be moved in the displacement of a hinged window of a conservatory which can be coupled to the second drive.
9. Device according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the extension position of a slatted curtain or slatted roof (first degree of freedom) can be controlled by the first drive (18), and the slat inclination of the slatted curtain (second degree of freedom) can be controlled by the second drive (20).
10. Device according to claim 9, characterised in that the slatted roof is part of a selfsupporting construction for erection in an outside area.
11. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the communication connection (36) between the two drives (18, 20) is designed so as to be redundant and/or with a plausibility check function which checks the functionality of the position monitoring.
12. Device according to claim 11, characterised in that the drives (18, 20) in addition to the evaluating and control unit (10, 11) have in each case a radio interface (22) which, in addition to the radio signals of the respectively other drive, also evaluate operating signals, transmitted via radio remote controls (40), of a user for the drive control.
13. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the evaluating and control unit (10, 11) is integrated in each case in a housing of the assigned drive (18, 20).

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