WO2019202370A1

WO2019202370A1 - A hand throttle sensor

Info

Publication number: WO2019202370A1
Application number: PCT/IB2018/052750
Authority: WO
Inventors: Manfred Bartsch
Original assignee: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
Priority date: 2018-04-20
Filing date: 2018-04-20
Publication date: 2019-10-24
Also published as: CN111712689A

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing accelerated and decelerated position of a hand throttle of a vehicle. The hand throttle sensor comprises a positioning element and a sensing element. The positioning element is circumferentially arranged on a rotating assembly of the hand throttle. The sensing element is arranged adjacently and coaxially to the rotating assembly. Upon rotation of the rotating assembly, the positioning element moves relative to the rotating assembly and the relative position of the positioning element from its idling position is detected by an inductive circuit of the sensing element thereby detecting the position of the throttle.

Description

A Hand Throttle Sensor

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a contactless position sensor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element of a hand throttle, especially in two or three wheelers.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Position sensors are generally used for reading position parameters of a certain sensor. Position sensors have many applications in various fields of electronics and automobiles. In the automobile industry, these position sensors can be used as a steering sensor, rain light sensor, body actuator, vehicle level sensor, accelerator pedal sensor, transmission range sensor, throttle plate sensor and the like.

[0003] At present, the position sensors used for determining a position of a throttle plate in a vehicle are a potentiometer sensor, a Hall Effect sensor or proximity sensors or inductive sensors and the like. The position sensor using potentiometer has a variable resistance potentiometer that sends a varying voltage signal to a Power Control Module according to the position of the throttle plate. The position of the throttle plate along with other sensors can determine the fuel needed by the engine at any given moment. In these types of sensors, the potentiometer should be in contact with the throttle valve. [0004] Further, contactless sensors such as inductive sensors and proximity sensors are also used for receiving the throttle position of a vehicle. All these sensors are arranged adjacent to the throttle arrangement of the vehicle. Hence, testing of the position sensor to ensure proper working may be difficult as the electronic arrangement of these sensors are very sophisticated and requires a skilled labour for testing.

[0005] Therefore, there is a requirement of a hand throttle sensor which overcomes few or all of the drawbacks of the present arrangement of position sensors for detecting the hand throttle position.

Objects of the Invention

[0006] Object of the present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing accelerated and decelerated position of a hand throttle of a vehicle.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element, which is configured on a hand throttle of two and three wheelers.

[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element, which detects the position of the hand throttle contactlessly. [0009] One more object of the present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element of the hand throttle, which is economical and simple in construction.

[0010] Further one more object of the present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing a position of a rotating element of the hand throttle, which is robust in construction.

Summary of the invention

[0011] According to the present invention, there is provided a hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element of a hand throttle of a vehicle. The hand throttle sensor comprises a positioning element and a sensing element. The positioning element is arranged on a circumference of a rotating assembly of the hand throttle. The rotating assembly includes a biasing member and a carrier element. The biasing member is a torsion spring arranged in connection with the carrier element. The carrier element is a hollow circular member having a stopper arrangement on one side. The stopper arrangement is likely an uneven surface which is engagingly connected with the biasing member.

[0012] Further, the carrier element is rotatably arranged in the hand throttle. Specifically, the carrier element rotates when the throttle is accelerated or decelerated by a user. The positioning element is arranged inside a protruded portion which extends radially outward from the carrier element. Further, the sensing element is arranged inside a housing of the hand throttle and is arranged adjacently and coaxially to the rotating assembly. The sensing element is an inductive circuit to detect the motion of the positioning element relative to the carrier element by induction.

[0013] The inductive circuit is configured on a printed circuit board. In the present embodiment, the printed circuit board (PCB) of the sensing element is partially circular like a“C”, such that the movement of the positioning element can be detected by the sensing element. Upon rotation of the rotating assembly, the positioning element moves relative to the rotating assembly and the relative position of the positioning element from its idling position is detected by an inductive circuit of the sensing element for detecting the position of the throttle.

[0014] Position sensing based on an inductive circuit has an advantage of preventing variation in signals due to external magnetic fields, which is observed in magnetic field detection circuit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] The advantages and features of the present invention will be understood better with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a hand throttle sensor for sensing a position of a rotating element of a hand throttle of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention; [0017] Figure 2a shows the arrangement of the hand throttle sensor in the hand throttle;

[0018] Figure 2b shows an assembled view of the hand throttle sensor for sensing a position of a rotating element of a hand throttle of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention;

[0019] Figures 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d shows various views of the hand throttle sensor for sensing a position of a rotating element of a hand throttle of a vehicle;

[0020] Figure 4a shows a perspective view of the hand throttle sensor for sensing position of a rotating element of a hand throttle of a vehicle;

[0021] Figure 4b shows a side angle view of figure 1;

[0022] Figure 5a shows the arrangement of a sensing element in the hand throttle sensor; and

[0023] Figure 5b shows an inductive circuit on a PCB of the hand throttle sensor in accordance with the present invention.

Detail Description of the Invention [0001] An embodiment of this invention, illustrating its features, will now be described in detail. The words "comprising, "having, "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

[0002] The terms“first,”“second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms“an” and“a” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

[0003] The present invention is to provide a hand throttle sensor for sensing accelerated and decelerated position of a hand throttle of a vehicle. Specifically, the hand throttle sensor is configured on a hand throttle of two/three wheelers for sensing the throttle position. Further, the sensor detects the position of the throttle contactlessly. Also, the hand throttle sensor is economical, simple in construction and is robust in construction.

[0024] The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0025] Referring to figures 1, 2a and 2b a hand throttle sensor (hereinafter referred as the sensor 100) for sensing a position of a rotating element of a hand throttle 200 of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. Specifically, the sensor 100 is a position sensor arranged on the hand throttle 200 of a two or three wheeler for detecting the throttle position on acceleration and deceleration of the hand throttle 200. The sensor 100 includes a positioning element 120 and a sensing element 130. Further, figures 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4a and 4b show various views of the sensor 100 for sensing accelerated and decelerated position of the hand throttle 200 of a vehicle.

[0026] The hand throttle 200 is also provided with a rotating assembly 110. The rotating assembly 110 includes a biasing member 112, and a carrier element 114. The biasing member 112 is a torsion spring arranged in connection with the carrier element 114. The carrier element 114 is a hollow circular member having a stopper arrangement 116 at one side. The stopper arrangement 116 is likely an uneven surface which is engagingly connected with the biasing member 112. Specifically, one end of the biasing member 112 is connected with the stopper arrangement 116 so that the rotational movement of the carrier element 114 can be biased by the biasing member 112. Further, the carrier element 114 is rotatably arranged on the hand throttle 200. Specifically, the carrier element 114 rotates when the hand throttle 200 is accelerated or decelerated by a user. In this embodiment, the rotation of the carrier element 114 from the idling position is carried by the user manually and the reverse movement or deceleration is happened by the retraction of the biasing member 112.

[0027] Referring again to figures 1 and 2a, the positioning element 120 is arranged on a circumference of the rotating assembly 110 of the hand throttle 200. Specifically, the positioning element 120 is integrally connected to the carrier element 114. More specifically, the positioning element 120 is arranged inside a protruded portion 118 which extends radially outward from the carrier element 114. In the present embodiment, the positioning element 120 is made of electrically conducting material specifically a metal plate made of copper or aluminium. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to use any other metal body for the positioning element 120. The positioning element 120 is a cursor segment arranged inside the protruded portion 118 which moves relatively with the carrier element 114. The positioning element 120 is preferably arranged in the protruded portion 118 of the carrier element 114 by injection molding. Specifically, the positioning element 120 rotates relatively with the movement of the carrier element 114.

[0028] Further, the sensing element 130 is arranged adjacently and coaxially to the rotating assembly 110 inside a housing 132. The sensing element 130 is an inductive circuit as shown in figures 5a and 5b to detect the motion of the positioning element 120 relatives with the carrier element 114 by induction. Further, the inductive circuit is having at least three receiver coils l30a, l30b, and l30c for receiving signals and at least a transmitter coil 131 for transmitting signals as shown in figure 5b. Further, the transmitter coil 131 and the receiver coils l30a, l30b and l30c may be interchanged depending on its connection to microcontrollers 135 in the inductive circuit. These coils are provided with a voltage equivalent for an operation of the coils when the positioning element 120 moves from idling position.

[0029] The inductive circuit is configured on a printed circuit board as shown in figure 5b. In the present embodiment, the printed circuit board of the sensing element 130 is partially circular like a“C”, such that the movement of the positioning element 120 can be detected by the sensing element 130. When a user accelerates or decelerates the throttle of the vehicle, the carrier element 114 rotates partially from the idling position. The rotational movement of the carrier element 114 moves the positioning element 120 configured therewithin. The movement of the positioning element 120 is detected by the inductive circuit of the sensing element 130. The position of the positioning element 120 influences the signal received by each individual receiving coils l30a, l30b, and l30c. Based on these receiving signals, an evaluation unit, for example, the microcontrollers 135 on the printed circuit board calculates and generates a signal indicating the position of the positioning element 120. The position signal will be sent to an ECU (not shown) of the vehicle, which can be used for various purposes. The biasing member 112 retracts the movement of the carrier element 114 upon deceleration and brings back the carrier element 114 to the idling position.

[0030] In an embodiment, the ECU may receive the signals indicating the position of the positioning element 120 and may send signals to an operating member (not shown) to open and close a throttle valve (not shown) of the engine according to the position of the positioning element 120. In this case, a mechanical cable connecting the throttle valve from the hand throttle 200 is not required, as the throttle valve is operated by the operating member specifically may be a motor while receiving signals from the ECU.

[0031] Therefore, the advantages of the present invention is to provide the sensor 100 for sensing accelerated and decelerated position of the hand throttle of a vehicle. Specifically, the sensor 100 is configured on hand throttle of two or three wheelers for sensing the hand throttle position. Further, the sensor 100 is provided with a sensor which detects the position of the throttle contactlessly. Also, the sensor 100 is economical, simple in construction and is robust in construction. Position sensing based on an inductive circuit has the advantage of preventing variation in signals due to external magnetic fields, which is observed in a magnetic field detection circuit.

[0032] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A hand throttle sensor 100 for sensing position of a rotating element of a hand throttle 200, the hand throttle sensor 100 comprising:

a positioning element 120 arranged on a circumference of a rotating assembly 110 of the hand throttle 200;

a sensing element 130 arranged inside a housing 132 of the hand throttle 200, the sensing element 130 is arranged adjacently and coaxially to the rotating assembly 110;

wherein upon rotating the rotating assembly 110, the positioning element 120 moves relative to the rotating assembly 110 and relative position of the positioning element 120 from its idling position is detected by an inductive circuit of the sensing element 130.

2. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating assembly 110 includes a carrier element 114 and a biasing member 112, the carrier element 114 is connected to the hand throttle 200 and rotates when the hand throttle 200 is accelerated or decelerated by an occupant.

3. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing element 130 is arranged adjacently and coaxially to the rotating assembly 110 inside a housing 132.

4. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing element 130 is an inductive circuit to detect the motion of the positioning element 120 relatives to the carrier element 114 by induction.

5. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the positioning element 120 is integrally connected to the carrier element 114.

6. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the positioning element 120 is arranged inside a protruded portion 118 which extends radially outward from the carrier element 114.

7. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the positioning element 120 is a cursor segment arranged inside the protruded portion 118 which moves relatively with the carrier element 114.

8. The hand throttle sensor 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing element 130 is“C” shaped.