Patent Application
20070283923
The sole
The adjusting device shown in the figure is composed of a two-part housing 1, of which a first housing part 2 is embodied essentially in the form of a pot and serves to accommodate a drive motor, not shown, as well as a second housing part 3 that is embodied essentially in the form of a plate and has side walls 4 extending perpendicularly from the edges of the plate 5, which side walls with the plate 5 of the housing part 3 border a chamber 6 open on one side, in which a gearing unit 7 is arranged. From the side of the plate 5 opposite the side walls 4, the first housing part 2 with the drive motor is placed in a corresponding recess 8 on the plate 5 and is fixed there. A drive shaft 10 of the drive motor, on which a first gear wheel 11 is fixed, projects through an opening 9 in the plate 5 thereby. This gear wheel 11 meshes with a second gear wheel 12 that is pivoted on a pin 13 that is produced in one piece with the second housing part 3. This gear wheel 12 is part of a double gear wheel 14 whose second gear wheel, which cannot be seen in the view, again meshes with a gear wheel segment 15 that is arranged on a gearing output shaft 16.
A torsion spring covered by the gear wheel segment 15 in the figure is connected to the gearing output shaft 16, which torsion spring in case of failure of the electronics or the drive motor turns the gearing output shaft 16 and thus a valve, not shown, arranged on the shaft 16, into a fail-safe position. The valve can be fixed on the gearing output shaft 16 for example via screws. A magnet 30, which with a non-contact angle sensor 18 serves to detect the angle position and corresponding actuation of the drive motor, is arranged on the end of the gearing output shaft 16 arranged in the chamber 6 opposite the valve or on the gear wheel segment 15.
For the power supply and corresponding actuation of the drive motor, the drive motor has two contact elements, not shown, that likewise project through the plate 5, and that are connected to an electronic control system 20 via conductors 19. The conductors 19 are part of a stamped grid 21, via which electrical connections are produced between all the electrical and electronic components.
The conductors 19 of the stamped grid 21 are for the most part arranged in a lid 22 and are sheathed by the plastic of the lid 22. The chamber 6 of the housing 1 is sealed by the lid 22.
The conductors 19 have non-sheathed sections 23 as well as sheathed sections, which are not seen in the illustration. The electronic control system 20, like the non-contact angle sensor 18, is arranged on a printed circuit board 24, which is likewise sheathed at least partly by the plastic of the lid 22. The power transistors of the adjusting device can for example also be arranged on the printed circuit board 24.
The electronic control system 20 and thus the printed circuit board 24 also has a connection to a plug 25 via the conductors 19 or the stamped grid 21. This plug 25 is embodied either in one piece with the second housing part 3 or is inserted with the conductors arranged in it, through an opening embodied in the plate 5 and is connected to the plate 5. Thus during production it is conceivable both to connect sections 23 of the stamped grid 21 that are not sheathed by the plastic of the lid 22 via clamp connections to the plug 25 or the contact elements of the drive motor, and also to sheathe parts of the sections 23 that have not yet been sheathed, with the plastic of the plate 5 or of the second housing part 3 or of the plug 25 during the production of the housing part 3. The plug 25 can also be produced with the lid 22 in this manner for example in an injection molding process. The same is also true for the contact of the motor, whereby here the contact between the motor contacts and the sections of the conductors 19 sheathed by the plastic of the second housing part 3 must be ensured. Either the stamped grid 21 can first be sheathed by the plastic of the lid 22 or of the housing 1 thereby, or the lid and the housing part 3 are injection-molded in one process step.
The plug 25 can be connected via a mating part, not shown, to a motor control device, likewise not shown. The non-sheathed sections 23 of the conductors 19 or of the stamped grid 21 furthermore have fold lines that serve as bending points of the non-sheathed sections 23 of the conductors 19 during the assembly of the lid 22 with the second housing part 3. It is clear from the drawing that these non-sheathed sections 23 serve as a hinge during the closing or opening of the lid 22 and thus guide the lid relative to the second housing part 3.
Moreover several “chimneys” 27 are embodied on the second housing part 3, which chimneys have a female thread, so that after folding, the lid 22 can be fixed detachably to the second housing part 3 via screws, not shown. In order to ensure that the then closed chamber 6 is sealed, a groove 28 facing in the direction of the lid 22 is embodied on the outer edge of the plate 5 or of the side walls 4, in which groove a gasket 29 is embedded that is for example connected permanently to the second housing part 3 during the assembly injection-molding.
The assembly of an adjusting device of this type is thus clearly facilitated by the hinge action of the non-sheathed sections 23 of the conductors 19, since at every angle position of the lid 22 to the housing 1, the lid 22 is always arranged in a defined position to the housing 1.
The electrical contact is secure and has a long service life, in particular due to the sheathing of the stamped grid 21 or the conductors 19 in the lid and optionally also on the housing part 3 or on the plug 25. Moreover the lid 22, printed circuit board 24, stamped grid 21, and angle sensor 18 components are integrated in one component. Welding processes to produce the contact between the electronic control system 20 and the plug 25 or the motor can thus be completely eliminated, as a result of which the contact is improved and one assembly step can also be omitted.
It should be clear that in this context it is advantageous to arrange the non-sheathed sections 23 of the conductors 19 as close as possible to the rotation axis of the lid 22, since in this manner the arrangement of the non-sheathed sections 23 in the assembled state, which can be defined via the fold lines 26, is distinctly facilitated due to the possibility of shortening the conductors 19. In this way opening angles of up to 180° can optionally be implemented.
Of course, the scope of the application is not limited to the described form of embodiment, in particular not to the use as an adjusting device of a throttle valve. Likewise, it is also conceivable to arrange a potentiometer on the lid 22 instead of the non-contact angle sensor 18, which potentiometer can be connected in the same way to the electronic control system 20 or the plug 25 via the sheathed stamped grid 21. Likewise the design of the gearing unit as well as its use can be varied in wide areas, without leaving the scope of the claims.
While the present invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additions, deletions, substitutions, modifications and improvements can be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2006 026 446.0 | Jun 2006 | DE | national |
