Composite component with sensing wire

Abstract

The invention relates to a composite component (100) for a motor vehicle, comprising a base body (110) and at least one electrically conductive sensor wire (140) arranged in the base body (110) or on the surface of the base body, wherein a plurality of contact locations (115a, 115b) are provided on the base body (110) for electrically contacting the sensor wire (140). The sensor wire (140) is arranged multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions at at least one contact location (115a, 115b), thereby forming a locally dense arrangement of the sensor wires (140) at the contact location (115a, 115b).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a composite component for a motor vehicle, comprising a base body and at least one electrically conductive sensor wire arranged in the base body or on a surface of the base body. Background Art

[0002] For the purposes of the present invention, a composite component is a component intended for use in a motor vehicle (e.g., a body component, structural component, shell component, or trim component) that is made of different materials or raw materials, wherein the different materials can form a material composite (e.g., fiber-reinforced plastic) and / or a laminate or layered composite (e.g., a sandwich structure). Such components may also be referred to as composite motor vehicle components.

[0003] Furthermore, such a composite component may also have at least one electrically conductive sensor wire arranged in the base body or on its surface, the sensor wire being designed in particular to enable structural and / or thermal testing of the composite component. This sensor wire must be electrically contacted or connected in a suitable manner.

[0004] DE 10 2011 109 474 A1 describes a fiber composite component comprising a body and at least one electrically conductive fiber, which is at least partially embedded in the body and connected to at least one electrically conductive preparation element for establishing an electrical connection. The (metallic) preparation element allows for an electrical connection of the embedded fiber through the insulating matrix material of the fiber composite material. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The composite component according to claim 1 of the present invention enables relatively simple, inexpensive, and mass-producible electrical contacting or coupling of sensor lines without requiring preparatory elements or the like as described in DE 10 2011 109 474 A1. Additional features of the invention are derived from the dependent claims, the following summary (which explicitly includes features described as "for example," "preferably," "in particular," etc.), and the accompanying drawings.

[0006] The composite component according to the present invention comprises a base body and at least one electrically conductive sensor wire, wherein the sensor wire is arranged in or embedded in the base body (i.e., extends substantially within the base body) or arranged on the surface of the base body (i.e., extends substantially on the surface or outer side of the base body). Furthermore, a plurality of, i.e., at least two, contact points or contact regions for electrically contacting the sensor wire are provided or present on the base body. The contact points are located at predetermined positions.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is now provided that the sensor lines are arranged or laid multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions at at least one of the contact locations, in particular at all contact locations, thereby forming a locally dense arrangement of the sensor lines at the relevant contact locations, in particular at all contact locations.

[0008] The present invention therefore provides for the sensor wires to be arranged such that they extend multiple times one above the other and / or side by side in different directions at the relevant contact locations or in the relevant contact area, in particular multiple times back and forth or crosswise and transversely, thereby locally increasing the wire density or wire fraction, that is, the surface or volume fraction of the sensor wires, in the area of the contact locations and, in particular, forming a dense coil or web-like arrangement of the sensor wires. In other words, a locally dense arrangement of the sensor wires is provided at the relevant contact locations. This enables particularly reliable, reproducible, and tolerance-insensitive contacting by means of contact elements, such as screws or rivets (see below), wherein multiple touches (multiple contacts) can also occur between the contact element and the sensor wire, which results in a particularly low transmission impedance.

[0009] Preferably, electrical contacting of the sensor wire occurs at the wire end (sensing wire end), so that the wire end of the sensor wire, strictly speaking, the end section of the sensor wire (the length of the end section can be from a few millimeters to a few decimeters), is arranged or laid in a manner according to the invention at at least one of the contact locations.

[0010] The local dense arrangement of the sensing lines at the relevant contact points is locally limited and (in top view) can be as small as 20 mm. 2 With 350mm 2 This roughly corresponds to the area of a circle with a diameter of 5.0 mm to 20.0 mm.

[0011] The sensor wire can be made of metal or carbon. The wire diameter is preferably in the range of 10 μm to 50 μm, and in particular in the range of 20 μm to 40 μm. The sensor wire can have an insulation, such as an insulating varnish, at least in places.

[0012] Preferably, the sensor wire is sewn or stuck into or onto the carrier material or carrier element. When producing the composite material, the sensor wire can be introduced into the carrier material with the aid of a needle or the like or placed on the carrier material. The sensor wire can also be at least partially bonded to the carrier material or embedded between multiple layers of the carrier material. At the relevant contact points, the sensor wire or its end sections are laid in particular such that they extend multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions in the manner according to the invention. The carrier material can be formed from a textile (such as a glass fiber fabric), a plastic (if necessary, also a foamed plastic) or a composite material. The carrier material can be embedded in another material, for example a plastic material, and / or covered with at least one covering layer (see below).

[0013] At the relevant contact points, in particular at all contact points, at least one metal sheet, in particular a metal film (e.g., made of aluminum film), electrically connected to the sensor wire can be arranged. The metal sheet improves the electrical contact with the contact element. The metal sheet is in particular dimensioned so that it is fully covered by the locally dense arrangement of the sensor wires. For the purpose of electrical connection (between the sensor wires and the metal sheet) and / or fixing (the metal sheet), the sensor wires can be sewn or snapped together with the metal sheet (given a suitable thickness), in particular so that the sensor wires or their end sections extend multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions on the relevant metal sheet in the manner according to the invention. Furthermore, it can be provided that the metal sheet is securely sewn to the carrier material or carrier element (see above) by means of the sensor wires. The metal sheet can be exposed on the composite component or freely accessible, or covered (in particular by means of a covering layer or the like; see below) or arranged electrically insulated from the outside.

[0014] The base body of the composite component according to the present invention is preferably designed as a flat or shell-like sandwich component having an (inner) core layer and two (outer) covering layers. The covering layers are preferably made of plastic, in particular fiber-reinforced plastic (FVK covering layers), and therefore have electrically insulating properties. In particular, the sensor wires are integrated into the core layer, that is, arranged in or on it. The core layer thus serves to a certain extent as a carrier material or carrier element and can be made of a textile material, a plastic material, or a composite material (see above). At the relevant contact points, in particular at all contact points, at least one metal sheet (see above) can also be arranged on the core layer (invisibly from the outside), the metal sheet being located to a certain extent between the core layer and the adjacent covering layer, wherein the metal sheet can also be arranged in the core layer. The covering layers can then be penetrated by means of contact elements (see below). Markings can be provided to facilitate the identification of the contact points.

[0015] At least two contact points configured in the manner according to the invention can be arranged directly or as closely as possible side by side (i.e., to a certain extent directly adjacent) on the composite component according to the invention. Preferably, electrical contact can be made between the two ends of the sensor wire at these two side-by-side contact points. In other words, the two ends or end sections of the sensor wire can each be arranged or laid in the manner according to the invention without touching each other. This also applies to any metal sheets that may be provided at these side-by-side contact points.

[0016] The composite component according to the invention is preferably configured as a floor component of a motor vehicle. Such a floor component is particularly used to mechanically protect the underbody of the motor vehicle and / or vehicle components arranged in the area of the vehicle or underbody, such as a power battery.

[0017] To electrically contact the sensor wires at the relevant contact points of the composite component, in particular at all contact points, screws, in particular screws with a hole-punched design, or rivets, in particular countersunk rivets, are preferably used. That is, at the relevant contact points, the electrical contacting of the sensor wires is preferably achieved by means of screws, in particular screws with a hole-punched design, or by means of rivets, in particular countersunk rivets, which are introduced from the outside into the locally dense arrangement of the sensor wires, so that at least one (galvanic) contacting contact is present. A simple electrical connection can be achieved even when the wire points or wire ends to be contacted are covered or not exposed, for example by a covering layer. (This means that releasing or exposing the contact points can be omitted during the production of the composite component). For connections made with countersunk rivets, one-sided accessibility of the contact points is sufficient. This also applies to connections made with screws, in which case the screws with a hole-punched design can be introduced or installed even without pre-drilled holes. Therefore, additional process steps such as pre-drilling or removing covers are not absolutely necessary, so that the connection process can be performed completely automatically if necessary. Preferably, the screws or rivets are designed so that the sensor wire is not cut or otherwise damaged during insertion or placement, but at most is pushed against it.

[0018] The at least one sensor wire of the composite component according to the present invention is preferably configured to detect damage to the composite component caused by forces and / or thermal effects (particularly due to accidents), i.e., to enable structural and / or thermal inspection of the composite component. Any forces and / or thermal effects will cause an impedance change in the sensor wire, which is detected or detected and can be further evaluated (with the aid of an evaluation device). In other words, the sensor wire is not used to electrically connect a sensor, but rather is itself a sensor. In particular, the sensor wire does not have the properties of reinforcing the component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The features shown in the drawings and / or described below may be general features of the present invention regardless of the specific feature combination and may improve the present invention accordingly.

[0020] Figure 1 A first possible embodiment of the composite component according to the invention is shown in two schematic sectional views;

[0021] Figure 2 and Figure 1 The upper illustration of shows similarly a second possible embodiment of the composite component according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Figure 1 The composite component 100 shown in FIG has a base body 110, which is designed as a flat or shell-like sandwich component with an inner core layer 120 and two outer covering layers 130. The core layer 120 can be formed from a textile material, a plastic material, or a composite material and can also be at least partially foamed (so-called foam core). The covering layers 130 are preferably formed from fiber-reinforced plastic (so-called FVK covering layers). The core layer 120 has an integrated sensor line 140, wherein a plurality of such sensor lines can also be provided. Two contact points 115a, 115b are arranged in close proximity on the base body 110, at which electrical contact is made with the sensor line 140 so that electrical signals can be intercepted. At these contact locations 115a, 115b, the sensor wire 140 is electrically connected at its wire ends or end sections via contact elements 150 (which are constructed as metal screws, rivets or the like) passing through the upper cover layer 130 to connecting elements 165 (which are constructed as annular cable clamps or the like) of the connecting cable 160.

[0023] The sensing wires 140 or the end sections of the sensing wires 140 are arranged multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions at the contact locations 115a, 115b, in particular such that the end sections of the sensing wires 140 are repeatedly moved back and forth or cross-connected and extended laterally. As a result, a locally dense arrangement of the sensing wires 140 is formed or constructed in the form of a dense, irregular wire network at the contact locations 115a, 115b, such as in particular Figure 1 These locally dense, in particular mesh-like, arrangements of the sensing lines 140 can be seen in the top view (according to Figure 1 The lower figure in the figure) has a 20mm 2 With 350mm 2 The area between them can be of different sizes and can be designed in a substantially rectangular manner (as shown in the figure) or, for example, in a circular or annular manner.

[0024] The locally dense arrangement of sensor wires 140 or their end sections enables relatively simple and tolerance-insensitive electrical contacting or connection of sensor wires 140 by means of contact elements 150, which are introduced or placed through electrically insulating upper cover layer 130 (or, if necessary, lower cover layer 130), in particular without pre-punching. Markings can be applied at the relevant locations on composite component 100. In this case, contact elements 150 also serve as connecting or fastening elements for connecting element 165.

[0025] The core layer 120 of the composite component 100 serves, in a manner of speaking, as a carrier material or carrier element 120 for the sensor wire 140. This means that during or after the production of the core layer 120, the sensor wire 140 is introduced or applied to the core layer 120, in particular sewn or clipped into or sewn or clipped onto (e.g., a prepreg or fiber-matrix semi-finished product used for production), with the wire ends or end sections of the sensor wire 140 being sewn or clipped onto in the manner described above. The sensor wire 140 can also be injection-embedded or bonded between multiple layers, with the wire ends or end sections being laid out in the manner described above. Subsequently, the cover layer 130 can be applied, with only one cover layer 130 or no cover layer at all being provided.

[0026] Figure 2 Another possible embodiment is schematically shown, in which an additional metal sheet or metal diaphragm 170 is provided at the contact points 115a, 115b. The metal sheet 170 is integrated into the composite component 100 to a certain extent. The end section of the sensor line 140 can be similar to Figure 1 The lower portion of the cover 130 is sewn or snapped together with the metal sheet 170 as shown in the figure. The metal sheet 170 is arranged in a concealed manner under the upper cover layer 130 and is thus to a certain extent invisible and / or electrically insulated from the outside. However, the metal sheet 170 can also be arranged in a manner that is exposed to the outside or freely accessible.

Claims

1. A composite component (100) for a motor vehicle, comprising a base body (110) and at least one electrically conductive sensor line (140) arranged in the base body (110) or on a surface of the base body, wherein: A plurality of contact portions (115a, 115b) are provided on the base body (110) for electrically contacting the sensing wire (140). It is characterized by: The sensing wires (140) are arranged multiple times side by side and / or one above the other in alternating directions at at least one contact portion (115a, 115b), thereby forming a locally dense arrangement of the sensing wires (140) at the contact portion (115a, 115b). At least one metal sheet (170) electrically connected to the sensing line (140) is also arranged at the contact portion (115a, 115b), and the sensing line (140) and the metal sheet (170) are sewn together.

2. The composite component (100) according to claim 1, It is characterized by: The local dense arrangement of the sensing wires (140) at the contact parts (115a, 115b) has a 20mm 2 With 350mm 2 The size of the area between.

3. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: The sensing wire (140) is formed of metal or carbon and has a wire diameter of 10 μm to 50 μm.

4. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: The sensing wire (140) is sewn into or onto the carrier material.

5. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: The base body (110) is designed as a flat sandwich component, wherein the sensor line (140) is integrated into the core layer (120).

6. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: At least two adjacent contact locations (115a, 115b) are provided.

7. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: The composite component is designed as an underbody component of a motor vehicle.

8. The composite component (100) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized by: The electrical contacting at the relevant contact points (115a, 115b) is achieved by means of screws or by means of rivets.

9. The composite component (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that The screw is a screw that is screwed into a hole, and / or the rivet is a countersunk rivet.

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