The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuating apparatus as is known from DE 10 2011 050 730 A1 or DE 10 2011 003 760 A1. The present invention further relates to a system for adjusting a functionality of a motor vehicle assembly providing an adjustment groove using such an electromagnetic actuating apparatus.
Electromagnetic actuating apparatuses are known from the prior art, which are used in particular and advantageously as camshaft adjustment apparatuses for an internal combustion engine. Such an apparatus, assumed as being generic, is disclosed by the applicant's WO 2008/155119 A1, in which the electromagnetic actuating apparatus in the form of a multiple actuator has a plurality of tappet devices, guided parallel to one another, driven by respectively associated armature units, which tappet devices can come into engagement, according to a respective actuating position, with an adjustment groove of the camshaft adjustment. An armature unit associated with a respective one of the tappet units has here advantageously a carrier section (formed, for instance of a cylindrical, having a planar surface for interaction with an armature-side end of the tappet unit opposed to the engagement end) and an elongated guide tappet, which is guided in an axially movable manner in a stationary core of a respective armature unit (armature means). Such actuators are advantageous both with regard to their operating characteristics and also concerning a cost-efficient manufacture suitable for mass production and—also beyond the described and preferred usage context of camshaft adjustment—have proved to be successful and have established themselves for a variety of actuating applications.
For further explanation of the backgrounds and the problems resulting therefrom, reference is made furthermore to the diagrammatic illustrations of
In the mechanical consequence, the torque illustrated by the illustration 68 then leads to a mechanical connection between the housing guide section 32 (here with a ring flange sitting in one piece, forming the housing end surface 64) and the hollow cylindrical housing 10 being stressed, which connection is typically realized via a press fit or suchlike connection. As in a motor vehicle operating context in any case vibrations, thermal influences and further forces act on this critical housing transition, the stress is additionally intensified through the mechanism described in the introduction with regard to the prior art.
Against the background that during an entire duration of use of such a camshaft adjustment apparatus (therefore practically during an entire engine lifespan) the connection between the housing section 32 and the housing 10 must remain stable, furthermore provision must be made for fluid-tightness of the apparatus and against the background that typically in a motor vehicle engine installation context the available installation space for mechanical reinforcements or stiffeners is limited, the technical problem arises of minimizing a stress of this critical connection transition between the housing sections 10, 32.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of the present invention to further develop a generic electromagnetic actuating apparatus so that a potentially disadvantageous transverse force produced during the tappet engagement into an actuating partner (for instance into the adjustment groove, shown by way of example) onto the tappet and the associated housing guide section leads to no or at least to a minimized impairment of the housing connection between the housing guide section and the housing accommodating the armature units. Here, the basic teaching of an offset of a guide opening of a tappet unit with respect to a line running through a surface centre point of the housing is to be assumed as being known.
The problem is solved by the electromagnetic actuating apparatus having the features disclosed herein and the system for adjusting a functionality of a motor vehicle assembly providing an adjustment groove as disclosed herein; advantageous further developments of the invention are also described herein, wherein in particular the further developments of the actuating apparatus are to be regarded as disclosed in a manner belonging to the invention.
In an advantageous manner according to the invention, departing from the prior art which is drawn upon according to WO 2008/155119 (or respectively according to the illustration in
In a manner which is structurally preferred and is favourable according to a further development, it has proved to be of value here to arrange the guide openings (guide bores) for the two tappet units in the end surface so that geometrically the imaginary connecting path between these guide openings (more precisely: between the axial centre points of these respective openings) is arranged to the surface centre point so that the perpendicular bisector through the connecting path runs through the surface centre point.
Whereas within the scope of practical realizations of the invention usually the guide end surface (i.e. the end surface of the guide housing section) lies centre-symmetrically within the housing end surface and accordingly the surface centre points for both surfaces coincide, nevertheless configurations are conceivable, in which these diverge; here, it would then be provided that the offset according to the invention in this respect is effective for the housing end surface, in order to neutralize the disadvantageous torque load of the housing connection between the (armature) housing and the housing guide section.
Accordingly, it is possible according to a further development and is included by the invention, to provide almost any desired end surface configurations in particular of the guide section, wherein, however, point-symmetrical or axially symmetrical circumferential contours are preferred according to further development. Likewise, it is basically conceivable to also configure the end face geometry of the (armature) housing in any desired manner (as long as the torque application of the housing connection can occur), nevertheless cylindrical housing shapes and consequently a circular end contour are preferred here.
According to a further development within the scope of the invention, a dimensioning- or respectively construction specification is provided for the offset according to the invention. On the one hand, it is preferred to describe this offset by the geometric relationship offset v=b×tan α, where b corresponds to half of the connecting path between the guide openings (more precisely: the centre points thereof). It is preferred according to the invention, in the case of typical groove geometries, to set the angle α to an angle between 5° and 40°, further preferably to a range between 10° and 30°; still further preferably to a range between approximately 10° and 15°.
Alternatively, the dimensioning for the offset v can take place by the dimensioning specification being v=a×sin α, where a is the segment measurement (distance) of a centre axis of a respective guide opening in the end surface to a surface centre point; in so far as the surface centre point of the guide end surface does not in any case coincide with the surface centre point of the housing end surface, it is preferred to select here the surface centre point of the housing end surface.
According to a further development and within the scope of a preferred form of realization of the invention, provision is to be made to couple a respective one of the tappet units detachably with the armature means, further preferably by the provision, according to further development, of the carrier sections. In this way, for instance, a respective tappet unit can rotate relative to the armature unit, so that also in this respect a torque absorption (potentially harmful to service life or respectively lifespan) is prevented. The (correspondingly detachable) sitting of the tappet unit on the armature-side end in a permanently magnetic manner (namely by means of the permanent magnet means present advantageously on the armature side in any case for drive purposes) is again advantageous in a further developing manner, so that favourable (detachable) adhesion effect is combined with rotatability of a respective tappet, whereby a good technical compromise was able to be found between mechanical uncoupling on the one hand (for the purpose of reducing a mechanical stress of the tappet armature unit) and an adhesion and a force transfer on the other hand between armature and tappet.
Advantageously again according to a further development, provision is made to configure at least one of the tappet units at its engagement end by targeted material influencing or material selection, so that this has the best possible hardness- or wear characteristics for interaction with the provided actuating partner (i.e. typically the actuating groove in the camshaft adjustment unit). The tappet, typically realized from a metal material, can be configured for this purpose for instance in this engagement region in a particular manner so as to be wear-resistant, for instance by a (local) hardening at the engagement end, additionally or alternatively it is possible to configure the elongated tappet unit along its extent direction with a plurality of different material sections (typically connected securely and non-detachably with one another) so that a desired increased wear resistance is realized through materials which are correspondingly hard and optimized for this purpose. Merely by way of example, nevertheless for the realization of such a further development, the subject of the applicant's DE 20 2012 104 122, in particular with regard to the configuration of the engagement end of the tappet unit, the associated production methods and material parameters, is considered as belonging to the invention included in the present application.
The system claimed according to the invention places the electromagnetic actuating apparatus according to the invention in relation to the motor vehicle assembly in practical terms in that the electromagnetic actuating apparatus according to the main claim is claimed in interaction with the axially displaceably mounted adjustment axis, having an adjustment groove. Advantageously, this is positioned relative to the actuating apparatus for actuation by engagement with the engagement end so that a force vector, applied in an engagement state from the adjustment groove to the engagement end, extends (in the projection) through the surface centre point of the housing end surface, in other words, the groove geometry with the angle specification thereby provided for the force vector and/or a distance between two adjacent tappet units in the end surface is arranged so that according to the invention no torque acts on the housing guide section.
In further development, it is advantageous for this to align the housing with a central centre axis (which then typically runs through the surface centre point of the housing end surface) to the adjustment axis so that the respective centre axes intersect orthogonally.
As a result, the present invention achieves a significant mechanical improvement to the generic technology, in such a way that through uniform transferring of at least one of the tappet units from the end surface(s) along at least one axis dimension, at significant torque reduction (to the point of a torque neutralization) can be achieved of a torque acting through the control groove laterally onto the tappet concerned and hence onto the housing connection between housing guide section and (surrounding) armature housing.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention will emerge from the following description of preferred example embodiments and said drawings; these show in
In practical terms, the illustration of
The detail enlargement of
In the illustrated example embodiment, an angle of the force vector of α=15° is provided through the groove course of the groove 42 in the critical region, so that in the realization or respectively dimensioning of the electromagnetic actuating apparatus, the offset v can be arranged in one of the following two ways:
v=a×sin α (1)
v=b×tan α, (2)
wherein the specialist in the art will select the dimensioning which corresponds to a respective specification or respectively is provided through geometrical installation conditions. Typically, interest exists for instance in an installation location on the motor vehicle engine, in order to keep as small as possible a distance between the adjacent tappets (and hence the measurement b).
The present invention is not restricted to the example embodiment which is shown. Rather, any desired other configurations, also concerning the precise configuration of respectively associated armature units, their arrangement in the housing or suchlike can be configured and varied according to a respective case of application, with this applying for instance also to other configurations of the housing—for example the housing 32 can be embodied having several parts.
Finally, the present invention is indeed particularly favourably suited for the usage context for the adjustment of an engine functionality of an internal combustion engine, however the invention is not limited to this purpose of use, but rather it is basically possible, and included by the invention, to also make other fields of application accessible to this optimized technology.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2013 108 027 | Jul 2013 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2014/060094 | 5/16/2014 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2015/010803 | 1/29/2015 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
8474421 | Gregor | Jul 2013 | B2 |
8939119 | Werner et al. | Jan 2015 | B2 |
9074496 | Schuler | Jul 2015 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
102009009081 | Aug 2010 | DE |
102009015486 | Sep 2010 | DE |
10 2011 003 760 | May 2012 | DE |
10 2011 050 730 | Dec 2012 | DE |
20 2012 104 122 | Mar 2013 | DE |
2008115119 | Dec 2008 | WO |
2012163591 | Jun 2012 | WO |
Entry |
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International Apln. No. PCT/2014/060094 search report dated Oct. 29, 2014. |
German Patent Apln. No. 10 2013 108 027.8 Office action dated Mar. 23, 2014. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160186622 A1 | Jun 2016 | US |