WO2004075136A1

WO2004075136A1 - Device for the wireless transmission of signals and/or energy

Info

Publication number: WO2004075136A1
Application number: PCT/DE2003/003439
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernhard Mattes; Harald Kazmierczak
Original assignee: Robert Bosch Gmbh
Priority date: 2003-02-20
Filing date: 2003-10-16
Publication date: 2004-09-02
Also published as: EP1597713A1; DE10307177A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for the wireless transmission of signals and/or energy from the primary side (13) of a transmitter (1) to the secondary side (7) of the transmitter (1). The aim of the invention is to guarantee the functional capability of the modules located on the secondary side, even if the signal or energy supply is faulty on the primary side. To achieve this, the device, which is supplied with signals or energy on the primary side via at least two lines (41, 43; 51, 53), is equipped with at least one additional line (42; 52) for supplying signals or energy. The device is also provided with switching elements (40; 50), which permit the selective connection of all the lines (41, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53) for supplying signals or energy to the transmitter (1). The switching elements (40; 50) can be controlled by diagnostic elements (9), which are provided to verify the functional capability of the modules (5) located on the secondary side. If the diagnostic elements have identified a fault in a line connection, the communication is switched to at least two fault-free lines.

Description

Device for the wireless transmission of signals and / or energy

State of the art

The invention relates to a device for wireless transmission of signals and / or energy from the primary side of a transmitter to the secondary side of the transmitter, the signals or the energy being fed into the transmitter via at least two lines on the primary side and diagnostic means for checking the functionality of modules arranged on the secondary side are provided.

German laid-open specification 100 46 695 describes a device for wireless transmission of a trigger signal for a restraint system in a motor vehicle. This device comprises an inductive transmitter. A processor serving as an evaluation unit, which is connected to a vehicle bus, belongs to the primary side of the transmitter. The vehicle bus is also connected to a data input / output of a control unit for the restraint system. This airbag control unit is also connected directly to the processor via an ignition line. When an impact of the vehicle is sensed, the airbag control unit transmits a triggering command for the restraint system to the processor via the ignition line. This interprets the trigger command into a trigger signal, which is then fed into the transmitter on the primary side and is thus transmitted to the restraint system arranged on the secondary side. For this purpose, the processor is connected to the primary winding of the transformer via two lines. With the help of the airbag control unit, the functionality of the entire module can be checked and in particular also whether the signal feed on the primary side of the transmitter is disturbed. It is also known from practice to transmit energy with the aid of an inductive transformer in addition to signals. The energy is also fed into the transformer via two lines.

As already mentioned, such devices are used, for example, in motor vehicles in the context of restraint systems in order to transmit signals and energy between the steering column and steering wheel or chassis and vehicle seat.

German patent application 102 317 13 also describes a device of the type mentioned at the outset, which is specifically designed for the transmission of signals and energy between the chassis and the vehicle seat. The transmission is also inductive here. The primary side of the transmitter is realized in the form of a conductor loop for signal transmission and a conductor loop for energy transmission and is arranged in the slide rail for the vehicle seat. The two primary coils each have only one winding. The secondary coils of the transformer are arranged on the seat side. With this construction, both a bidirectional signal transmission between the chassis and the vehicle seat as well as a power supply for the modules in the vehicle seat can be realized, e.g. automatic child seat recognition, user classification, belt lock query, belt tensioner and airbags.

Due to the vibrations during the operation of the vehicle, the installation and removal of the vehicle seats or environmental influences such as dirt and corrosion, transmission problems can occur in these applications between the electronics on the primary side and the transmitter, which can be due to plug problems, insufficient solder connections, excessive line resistance or a line break can be attributed. In extreme cases, the signal or energy transmission is so disturbed that the modules arranged on the secondary side fail completely, that is to say, for example, restraint devices cannot be triggered. Such a functional failure is generally diagnosed in the course of an automatically performed function check by the airbag control unit and signaled to the driver. Until the fault is remedied, however, the vehicle occupants must ensure that the functionality of the person concerned is correct Modules do without, which can have fatal consequences, particularly in the case of restraint devices.

Advantages of the invention

The present invention proposes a possibility of ensuring the functionality of the modules arranged on the secondary side, even if the signal or energy feed is disturbed on the primary side.

According to the invention, a device of the type mentioned at the outset is equipped with at least one further line for feeding signals or energy. In addition, switching means are provided, via which all lines for signal or energy supply can optionally be connected to the transformer. These switching means can be controlled by the diagnostic means, so that a switchover to at least two undisturbed lines takes place when the diagnostic means have recognized a line connection as faulty.

According to the invention, the diagnostic means or the diagnostic function of a control device arranged on the primary side is not only used for recognizing and signaling a functional impairment, but also for automatically restoring the functional capability until the cause of the error has been remedied if the functional impairment relates to a faulty line connection between the signal or energy source and the transmitter is due.

Basically, there are various options for realizing the device according to the invention, in particular the switching means and the transformer.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention, the switching means are implemented in the form of a matrix circuit which, when appropriately activated, switches from a faulty line to the redundant line. The individual switching elements of such a matrix circuit can be formed, for example, by power MOS FET switches. As already mentioned, a transmitter is used in the context of the device according to the invention, which enables wireless transmission of signals or energy. The type of transmitter, ie the physical principle on which the transmitter operates, is primarily determined by the type of application. Capacitive or inductive transformers are particularly suitable for the automotive sector.

In a particularly advantageous variant, the device according to the invention comprises an inductive transformer with at least two conductor loops or coil windings for feeding signals or energy. In the event of a faulty connection line, the conductor loops or coil windings can then be used alternatively or connected in series for signal feeding or energy feeding with the aid of the controllable switching means.

In a further advantageous variant of the device according to the invention, in which the inductive transformer comprises at least one conductor loop or coil winding for the signal feed and at least one conductor loop or coil winding for the energy feed, at least one third conductor loop or coil winding is provided, which, depending on the switching means that can be controlled, is provided Can be used for signal feed or energy feed.

drawings

As already discussed in detail above, there are various possibilities for advantageously designing and developing the teaching of the present invention. For this purpose, reference is made on the one hand to the claims subordinate to claim 1 and on the other hand to the following description of two exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings.

1 shows the block diagram of a device for the wireless transmission of signals and energy for a restraint system in a motor vehicle, 2 shows an implementation according to the invention of the primary side of the transmitter and of the interfaces for signal and energy feed in a device as shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows the current profile in the event of an interruption in the line connection between the primary side of the transformer and the electronics arranged on the primary side for the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and

FIG. 4 shows a further exemplary embodiment for a device according to the invention, which can be used in particular for the wireless transmission of signals and energy between the chassis of a motor vehicle and a vehicle seat.

Description of the embodiments

The device shown in FIG. 1 comprises an inductive transmitter 1 - shown only schematically here - with which signals and energy are transmitted from the electronics arranged on the primary side 13 to the restraint system 5 arranged on the secondary side 7. The electronics on the primary side comprise an evaluation unit 8 which is connected to a vehicle bus 10. The airbag control unit 9 is also connected to the vehicle bus 10. Furthermore, a release unit 11 is arranged on the primary side 13 and is connected to the airbag control unit 9 via an ignition line 28. The ignition line 28 is also connected to a data input of the evaluation unit 8. The output signals of the evaluation unit 8 are amplified by a driver 26 and fed into the transmitter 1 on the primary side. Finally, the primary side 13 also includes a driver 12, which is provided for the energy transfer from the primary side 13 to the secondary side 7 of the transformer 1 and via which the output signals of the release unit 11 are also fed into the transformer 1.

A driver 27 is arranged on the secondary side 7, quasi mirror image of the primary side 13, via which the output signals of the evaluation unit 8 are amplified and fed to an evaluation unit 2 arranged on the secondary side. Conversely, signals can also be transmitted from the secondary evaluation unit 2 via the driver 27, the transmitter 1 and the driver 26 to the primary evaluation unit 8. A signal output of the evaluation unit 2 is connected to a trigger circuit 4 for the restraining means 5. A driver 6 is provided on the secondary side for the energy transfer from the primary side 13 to the secondary side 7 and also amplifies the transmitted output signals of the redundancy unit 11. These are then fed to a release unit 3. The release unit 3 is connected both to the evaluation unit 2 and to the trigger circuit 4.

When an impact of the vehicle is sensed, the airbag control unit 9 generates a trigger command for the restraint system 5, which is then transmitted via the ignition line 28 to the evaluation unit 8 on the one hand and to the redundancy unit 11 on the other hand. The evaluation unit 8 interprets the trigger command in a tripping signal, the ^"page via the driver 26 and the transmitter 1 to the secondary is transferred 7 and is fed there via the driver 27 to the evaluation unit. 2 The redundancy unit 11 forms at least one redundancy signal from the trigger command, which is transmitted via the driver 12 and the transmitter 1 to the secondary side 7 and is fed there to the release unit 3 via the driver 6.

If the release unit 3 arranged on the secondary side has received and recognized a redundancy signal, a corresponding release signal is transmitted to the trigger circuit 4. When the evaluation unit 2 has received a trigger signal, an activation signal is transmitted to the trigger circuit 4. However, this is only activated when it has received a corresponding release signal from the release unit 3.

As already mentioned, FIGS. 2 and 3 show the interface on the primary side between the transmitter 1 and the components of the primary side 13, which are generally arranged in a housing. The transmitter 1 comprises on the primary side two coil windings 31 and 32 for the information transmission, in particular the transmission of the trigger signals, and two coil windings 33 and 34 for the energy transfer and the transmission of redundancy signals. With the help of a Matrix circuit 40, the driver 26 can either be connected to the coil winding 31 - via lines 41 and 42 - or to the coil winding 32 - via lines 42 and 43 - or to the coil windings 31 and 32 connected in series - via lines 41 and 43. Correspondingly, the driver 12 can be connected with the aid of a matrix circuit 50 either to the coil winding 33 - via lines 51 and 52 - or to the coil winding 34 - via lines 52 and 53 - or to the coil windings 33 and 34 connected in series - via the lines 51 and 53. The two matrix circuits 40 and 50 can be controlled via the airbag control unit 9, which is not shown here.

The airbag control unit 9 has a number of diagnostic functions with which the functionality of the restraint system 5 is checked regularly. Malfunctions of the line connections 41, 42, 43 and 51, 52, 53 are also recognized, such as a line break. This case is shown in Fig. 3. Lines 41 and 52 are interrupted here. On the one hand, the airbag control unit 9 ensures that this defect is visually signaled, for example, so that the driver can arrange for a repair. On the other hand, the airbag control unit 9 causes the matrix switches 40 and 50 to be switched over, so that the signal feed and the energy feed into the transformer take place via functioning line connections. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the driver 26 is first connected via lines 41 and 42 to the first coil winding 31 for information transmission, which is shown in FIG. 2. After an interruption of line 41, matrix circuit 40 is automatically switched over, so that driver 26 is now connected via lines 42 and 43 to second coil winding 32 for information transmission. This situation is shown in Fig. 3. The driver 12 is first connected via lines 52 and 53 to the second coil winding 34 for energy transmission (FIG. 2). After an interruption of the line 52, the matrix circuit 50 is automatically switched over, so that the driver 12 is now connected via lines 51 and 53 to the two coil windings 33 and 34 connected in series for energy transmission (FIG. 3). This ensures that the restraint system is triggered even if there is a line break. FIG. 4 shows the block diagram of a device according to the invention for the wireless transmission of signals and energy from electronics 60 mounted on the vehicle frame to a restraint system 70 which is arranged in a vehicle seat. The electronics 60 is designed in exactly the same way as the primary-side electronics of the exemplary embodiment explained above in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3 and also has the same functions. Accordingly, the restraint system 70 is activated and triggered in the same manner as described above. In particular, the trigger signals on the primary side are fed into an inductive transformer 100 via a driver 61, while energy and redundancy signals are fed via a driver 62. The trigger signals are transmitted to the restraint system 70 on the secondary side via a driver 71, and the energy and the redundancy signals are transmitted via a driver 72. The primary side of the transformer 100 is formed here by three conductor loops 101, 102 and 103. The conductor loops 101, 102 and 103 can be optionally connected to the driver 61 or 62 via a matrix circuit 80 and can thus be used either for information transmission or for energy transfer. As in the exemplary embodiment described above, the matrix circuit 80 is actuated by the airbag control unit when a line fault has been detected, and in this case switches over to the third intact conductor loop. If the cable is defective, the third conductor loop can be used to ensure that the system works properly until the fault has been rectified.

Claims

claims

1. Device for the wireless transmission of signals and / or energy from the primary side (13) of a transmitter (1) to the secondary side (7) of the transmitter (1), the signals or the energy via at least two lines (41 , 43; 51, 53) are fed into the transmitter (1) on the primary side (13) and diagnostic means (9) are provided for checking the functionality of modules (5) arranged on the secondary side, characterized in that at least one further line (42 ; 52) for signal or energy feed is provided that switching means (40; 50) are provided, via which all lines (41, 42, 43; 51, 52, 53) for signal or energy feed optionally with the transformer ( 1) can be connected, and that the switching means (40; 50) can be controlled by the diagnostic means (9), so that a switchover to at least two undisturbed lines takes place when the diagnostic means have recognized a line connection as faulty.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching means are realized in the form of a matrix circuit (40; 50).

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the matrix circuit (40; 50) comprises power MOS FET switches.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3 with an inductive transformer (1), characterized in that the transformer (1) is realized on the primary side in the form of at least two conductor loops or coil windings (31, 32; 33, 34), which with With the help of the controllable switching means (40; 50), alternatively or connected in series, can be used for signal feeding or energy feeding.

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4 with an inductive transmitter (100), characterized in that the transmitter (100) on the primary side comprises at least one conductor loop (101) or coil winding for the signal feed and at least one conductor loop (102) or coil winding for the energy feed and that at least a third conductor loop (103) or coil winding is provided, which can be controlled as required using the controllable switching means (80) can be used for signal injection or energy injection.

6. Use of a device according to one of claims 1 to 5 for the wireless transmission of signals and / or energy in a motor vehicle.

7. Use according to claim 6 for the wireless transmission of trigger signals for restraint means and / or the energy required to trigger the restraint means.

8. Use according to one of claims 1 to 7 for the wireless transmission of signals and / or energy between the steering column and the steering wheel.

9. Use according to one of claims 1 to 7 for wireless transmission of signals and / or energy between the vehicle body and a

Vehicle seat.