Drehbremse

Abstract

A rotary brake (1) comprising a supporting structure (2) and a stator-rotor assembly (3) with a stator (4) and a rotor (5), wherein a receiving space (6) for the stator-rotor assembly (3) is formed between the stator (4) and the rotor (5), and a magnetorheological medium (7) is arranged in the receiving space (6), wherein the stator-rotor assembly (3) can be fastened to the supporting structure (2) in a fastening position by means of at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) of the supporting structure (2), and in the fastening position the stator (4) is fastened to the supporting structure (2) in a rotationally fixed manner, and the rotor (5) is rotatably mounted relative to the stator (4), wherein the stator-rotor assembly (3) comprises a coil (11) for generating a magnetic field (12) whose field strength is variable, and the rotary brake (1) comprises a contacting device (13) for contacting the coil (11) with an electrical power supply (14),wherein by fastening the stator-rotor assembly (3) in the fastening position to the support structure (2), a connecting position of the contacting device (13) is necessarily established.,

Description

The present invention relates to a rotary brake which has a supporting structure and a stator-rotor assembly with a stator and a rotor, wherein a receiving space of the stator-rotor assembly is formed between the stator and the rotor and a magnetorheological medium is arranged in the receiving space, wherein the stator-rotor assembly can be fastened to the supporting structure in a fastening position by means of at least one fastening device of the supporting structure and, in the fastening position, the stator is fastened to the supporting structure in a rotationally fixed manner and the rotor is mounted rotatably relative to the stator, wherein the stator-rotor assembly has a coil for generating a magnetic field which can be varied in its field strength and the rotary brake has a contacting device for contacting the coil with an electrical power supply, wherein, by changing the field strength of the magnetic field, a rotational resistance acting on the rotor can be adjusted by changing a viscosity of the magnetorheological medium.Rotary brakes, in which a magnetorheological medium is acted upon by a variable magnetic field by means of a coil in order to thus change the resistance to rotation of the rotor, are known in the prior art. DE 10 2019 129 548 A1 describes such a rotary brake which has as a rotor a housing-like rotor or rotary body designed as a finger or thumb roller and an axle unit as a stator. The electrical connections for the coil of the rotary brake are realized in this document via a printed circuit board and a connecting line. According to this document, the printed circuit board can be designed as a six- or eight-pole plug.Another example of a rotary brake which is based on a magnetorheological operating principle is disclosed in WO 2021 / 123343 A1. In this document, so-called magnetic field concentrators are proposed in order to improve the braking action which can be achieved by the magnetorheological medium.Rotary brakes of this type can be used to achieve a wide variety of technical tasks. A first wide field is that these rotary brakes are actually used as braking devices for the braking of a body and / or a movement. Another equally wide field of application is to use these rotary brakes as user interfaces for electronic devices. For example, such rotary brakes can be used in touchpads, game pads, computer mice, joysticks, but also quite generally in operating devices for machines, medical devices or in motor vehicles. By means of a corresponding activation or energization of the coil, the resistance to rotation of the rotor can be preset practically freely, and can also be varied depending on the position, in order to thus give the operator a specific haptic feedback during the rotation of the rotor relative to the stator and thus during the operation of the user interface.In view of this very broad range of applications for such rotary brakes, it is clear that the mounting of such rotary brakes in or on the appliance in which they are to be used can sometimes also be very complicated. This is especially the case when the space conditions and accessibility are limited.It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a rotary brake which can be mounted particularly easily.To achieve this object, a rotary brake according to claim 1 is proposed.It is thus provided according to the invention in a rotary brake of the type mentioned at the beginning that the contacting device has at least two structural-unit-side electrical contacts arranged on the stator-rotor structural unit and at least two carrier-side electrical contacts arranged on the supporting structure, and the structural-unit-side electrical contacts are electrically conductively connected to one another with the carrier-side electrical contacts in a connecting position of the contacting device, wherein the connecting position of the contacting device is necessarily established by fastening the stator-rotor structural unit in the fastening position on the supporting structure.In short, it is thus a basic idea of the invention to design and arrange the individual components of the rotary brake according to the invention such that, during the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly in the fastening position to the supporting structure, the electrical contacts required for supplying the coil are connected positively or in other words automatically or in yet other words simultaneously. In yet other words, the invention thus provides that the electrical contacts on the structural unit side are automatically electrically conductively connected to the electrical contacts on the carrier side when the stator-rotor structural unit is fastened to the supporting structure and is thus brought into the fastening position. This has several advantages. Thus, in a single operation, the electrical contacting of the coil takes place simultaneously via the contacting device and the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly to the supporting structure. This differs from the prior art in that in the prior art the electrical contacting and the mechanical fastening have to be carried out in succession in two separate working steps. The invention is particularly advantageous when the rotary brake has to be mounted in a spatially restricted environment which is difficult to access, since the electrical contacting is also carried out automatically when the stator-rotor structural unit is fastened in and / or on the supporting structure.In addition to the rotary brake according to the invention, a further aspect of the invention relates to a user interface for an electronic device, wherein the user interface has a rotary brake according to the invention and the rotor can be loaded with the variable resistance to rotation in order to actuate the electronic device. These may be, for example, user interfaces for computer mice, controllers, game consoles, gaming equipment, joysticks or knobs in a keyboard. User interfaces according to the invention can be used, generally speaking, for example in kitchen and domestic appliances, in entertainment electronics, in photographs, film cameras, hifi and television systems, smart devices, smart pants, PCs, watches and the like. Rotary brakes according to the invention or user interfaces equipped therewith can, however, also be used for the control of a wide variety of machines, devices and also in vehicles. For example, in vehicles with such user interfaces, the on-board electronics, the air conditioning system, the seat adjustment, etc. can be controlled. Rotary brakes according to the invention can of course also be used as braking devices for braking a wide variety of bodies and / or movements.For this purpose, the rotor can be designed, for example, as a wheel that can be rotated by a finger or manually, a thumb roller or the like, or can be connected to such a component. In all these application forms, the rotational resistance of the rotor haptically perceived by the user or operator can be varied in a targeted manner in a wide variety of embodiments in order thus always to give the user a special, more or less freely predefinable haptic feedback. The rotor can be braked to different extents or completely blocked. Various sequences of detents, stops, and the like may be predetermined.In order to be able to detect and include the instantaneous position of the rotor, rotary brakes according to the invention preferably have a position sensor. Suitable position sensors which can be used in rotary brakes according to the invention are known per se in numerous embodiments in the prior art. Such position sensors can determine, for example, the relative position between rotor and stator or between rotor and supporting structure. They can also be used to determine the number of revolutions of the rotor or else the speed at which the rotor is rotated. All these measured values of such position sensors can be used by a controller as a controlled variable for controlling an electrical power supply with which the coil of the rotary brake is energized. On the basis of these controlled variables, the controller can then set the field strength of the magnetic field in the receiving space by means of the coil, following the desired specifications, in such a way that the respectively desired or predefined resistance to rotation acts on the rotor.The rotor can also be referred to as a rotary body. It can be designed as a type of housing which surrounds the stator and the receiving space. However, it is also possible to form the rotor as a type of axle body. The rotor can be mounted rotatably relative to the stator in one direction, but also in two opposite directions. The rotation of the rotor relative to the stator can be limited within a predefined rotation range, for example by end stops. However, it is equally possible for the rotor to be able to make an infinite number of revolutions relative to the stator, as long as this is not prevented by means of the magnetorheological medium.The receiving space, in which the magnetorheological medium is located, is expediently formed in the shape of a gap between the stator and the rotor. A sequence of projections and recesses can be formed on both the stator and the rotor in order to concentrate the magnetic field at certain points in the receiving space. The technology described in WO 2021 / 123343 A1 in the form of the magnetic field concentrators mentioned therein can therefore also be used in the realization of rotary brakes according to the invention.The stator is the component of the stator-rotor structural unit, which is fixed to the supporting structure in a rotationally fixed manner in the fixing position. The stator can be an axle body, as it is always designed. The stator can, however, also be designed in the form of a housing, in particular when the rotor is rotatably mounted in some regions within the stator as a type of axle body. Regardless of the specific embodiment, seals are advantageously present between the rotor and the stator, which seal the receiving space for the magnetorheological medium to the outside, so that the magnetorheological medium cannot diffuse to the outside on the one hand and is lost. On the other hand, such seals can also prevent dirt entering the receiving space from the outside from contaminating the magnetorheological medium.In rotary brakes according to the invention, a wide variety of magnetorheological media known per se in the prior art can be used. Such a magnetorheological medium is a mixture of at least one fluid and magnetizable particles. The fluid can be gaseous, but also liquid, or both gaseous and liquid. It can thus be air or another gas or gas mixture, for example. However, an oil or the like can also be used as the fluid. Particles of carbonyl iron, for example, can be used as magnetizable particles. These magnetizable particles may be uncoated, but may also be coated with a corrosion protection coating, a wear-reducing coating, etc. The magnetorheological medium can contain additional additives, such as corrosion inhibitors and / or wear-reducing particles such as graphite etc.In principle, there are a wide variety of design possibilities for the design of the at least one fastening device which ensures the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor structural unit in the fastening position on the supporting structure, and for the contacting device which ensures the electrical power supply of the coil. However, for the purpose of particularly simple assembly, it is expediently provided that the fastening device is formed as part of a plug connection, preferably a latching connection. In this sense, it is also favorable if the contacting device is designed as a plug connection, preferably as a latching connection.In rotary brakes according to the invention, it can be provided that the stator-rotor structural unit is only once brought into the fastening position during the initial assembly and then remains fastened to the supporting structure without this fastening being able to be resolved again in a non-destructive manner. However, it is generally more advantageous if destruction-free disassembly is also possible again. In this context, preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the at least one fastening device is designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and re-detachment and the contacting device is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and re-detachment.In principle, it is possible in the invention for the coil to be arranged on and / or in the rotor and for the electrical contacts on the structural unit to be arranged on the rotor. However, when implementing such embodiments, it is then usually necessary to work with sliding contacts or the like in order to enable the rotor to be rotated and to ensure the transmission of current to the coil.Preferred embodiments of the invention therefore provide that the coil is arranged on and / or in the stator and the electrical contacts on the assembly side are arranged on the stator. The electrically conductive connections between the coil and the structural unit-side electrical contacts are then preferably formed in the stator and / or passed through the stator. As electrically conductive connections, it is possible to use electrical lines such as, for example, cables or lines on printed circuit boards that are electrically insulated from the outside. However, it is also possible to use directly as electrically conductive connections correspondingly electrically conductive regions of the stator.For the purpose of simple assembly, the fastening device or the fastening devices can be fork-shaped. In this case, the fastening device or fastening devices can fix the stator to the supporting structure in a rotationally fixed manner by means of a positive fit or the like. The rotor can be rotatably mounted both on or on the stator and on the supporting structure. In the latter case, the fastening device is then advantageously designed to be correspondingly rounded.Preferred variants of the invention provide that the support structure has at least two fastening devices arranged at a distance from one another. In such embodiments, it is then possible to arrange the stator-rotor structural unit between the fastening devices in the fastening position.Particularly preferred embodiments of rotary brakes according to the invention provide that the stator has two axle bolts which are electrically insulated from one another. These are preferably arranged coaxially with respect to one another. The axle bolts can be arranged one behind the other, as seen in their axial direction. Embodiments are also conceivable, however, in which the axle bolts are arranged lying one inside the other. Thus, for example, there may be an inner axle bolt which is arranged within an outer axle bolt with the interposition of a corresponding electrical insulation.The axle bolts can be formed in a wide variety of ways. They can have a round, but also a non-round outer contour, i.e. be formed, for example, with an angular or polygonal outer structure. Such non-round structures are particularly favorable when the axle bolt is used to fix the stator in a rotationally fixed manner to a correspondingly shaped fastening device, in particular a fork.Particularly preferred variants of the invention provide that the axle bolts form the electrical contacts on the structural unit side. In such embodiments, the axle bolts then have two functions. On the one hand, they serve for the mechanical fastening of the stator or of the stator-rotor structural unit to the supporting structure, but on the other hand they also serve for the electrical contacting of the coil.In this context, it can preferably also be provided that the supporting structure has at least two fastening devices which are electrically insulated from one another, wherein the stator is fastened to the fastening devices with its axle bolts in the fastening position and the fastening devices form the carrier-side electrical contacts.As an alternative to these embodiments, in which the axle bolts are also used as electrical contacts, it can also be provided that the contacting device is designed as an electrical plug connector having two plug connector parts, wherein one of the plug connector parts comprises the electrical contacts on the assembly side and is arranged on the stator-rotor assembly, preferably on the stator, and the other of the plug connector parts comprises the electrical contacts on the carrier side and is arranged on the supporting structure. In these embodiments, the electrical contacting of the coil is then preferably not effected via the axle bolts but via separately formed plug connector parts and their electrical contacts.For the sake of completeness, it is pointed out that further functionalities can be realized by means of rotary brakes according to the invention, in particular when they are used as part of a user interface. For example, the entire rotary brake with its support structure can be mounted rotatably, tiltable and / or displaceably on or on a further support structure.In a rotary brake according to the preamble of claim 1, an assembly method can provide that the contacting device has at least two structural unit-side electrical contacts arranged on the stator-rotor structural unit and at least two carrier-side electrical contacts arranged on the supporting structure, wherein the structural unit-side electrical contacts with the carrier-side electrical contacts are necessarily electrically conductively connected to one another in the connection position of the contacting device when the stator-rotor structural unit is fastened to the supporting structure in the fastening position.Even if individual components of the rotary brake and / or of the user interface are often mentioned here only in the singular, they can of course nevertheless also be present multiple times in the realization of the invention.Further features and details of preferred embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to various exemplary embodiments. The following are shown: FIGS. 1 to 7 are schematic representations of a first exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a second exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention; FIGS. 9 and 10 show representations of an example of how rotary brakes according to the invention can be used as a user interface for an electronic device; FIGS. 11 to 13 are illustrations of a third exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention; and FIGS. 14 to 16 show representations of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention.FIGS. 1 to 7 show schematic representations of a first exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. FIG. 1 shows a vertical section, FIG. 2 shows the stator-rotor structural unit 3 of this rotary brake 1, detached from the other components, in a perspective representation. FIG. 3 shows the section along the section line AA from FIG. 1. FIGS. 4 and 6 show the stator-rotor assembly 3 and the supporting structure 2 in a state separated from one another in a side view. FIGS. 5 and 7 show side views in which the stator-rotor structural unit 3 is fastened to the supporting structure 2 in the fastening position.In the vertical section according to FIG. 1, in which the stator-rotor structural unit 3 is in the fastening position, it can first be seen that the supporting structure 2 in this exemplary embodiment has two fastening devices 8 and 9, which are arranged at a distance from one another. Both fastening devices 8 and 9 are fixed on a base 30 of the supporting structure and are electrically insulated from one another. The stator-rotor assembly 3 has a stator 4 and a rotor 5. Between stator 4 and rotor 5, a receiving space 6 of stator-rotor assembly 3 is formed, in which magnetorheological medium 7 is located. The stator 4 is fastened to the supporting structure 2 in a rotationally fixed manner in the fastening position illustrated in FIG. 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the stator 4 is formed by an axle body which has two axle bolts 21 and 22. These are electrically insulated from one another by means of the electrical insulation 31 and are arranged coaxially with respect to one another. The rotor 5 is rotatably mounted relative to the stator 4. In this first exemplary embodiment, this is realized in such a way that the rotor 4 is rotatably mounted on the stator 4. In this exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 forms a type of housing, in the interior of which a part of the stator 4 and the receiving space 6 is located. In the exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 has two half shells which are connected to one another in a materially integral manner, for example by means of ultrasonic welding or adhesive bonding. To seal the receiving space 6 from the outside, the seals 28 are arranged between the stator 4 and the rotor 5. The seals 28 prevent, on the one hand, the magnetorheological medium from escaping from the receiving space 6 to the outside. On the other hand, the seals 28 also ensure that no dirt can enter the receiving space 6 from the outside. The seals 28 thus prevent contamination of the magnetorheological medium 7. As a result, the wear and the coefficient of friction can be reduced.In this exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 is formed from two half shells which are connected to one another. The rotor 5 can be made entirely or partially of plastic. However, other embodiments and materials are of course also possible.In this exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 also has a, generally metallic, magnetizable ring 29 which delimits the receiving space 6 and promotes the formation and concentration of the magnetic field 12 in the receiving space 6. Such magnetizable rings 29 can of course also be used in other embodiments of the invention.To generate a magnetic field 12 whose field strength can be varied, the stator-rotor assembly 3 has a coil 11. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this is arranged on and also partially in the stator 4, which simplifies the electrical contacting, as will be explained in detail below. By changing the field strength of the magnetic field 12 by means of appropriate energization of the coil 11, the viscosity of the magnetorheological medium 7 can be varied in order to be able to set the respectively desired rotational resistance acting on the rotor 5.Complete blocking of the rotor 5 is also possible as a result.For contacting, i.e. for establishing an electrical contact of the coil 11 with the electrical power supply 14, the rotary brake 1 according to the invention has the contacting device 13. According to the invention, it is provided that the contacting device 13 has at least two structural-unit-side electrical contacts 15, 16 arranged on the stator-rotor structural unit 3 and at least two carrier-side electrical contacts 17, 18 arranged on the supporting structure 2, and the structural-unit-side electrical contacts 15, 16 are electrically conductively connected to one another with the carrier-side electrical contacts 17, 18 in a connecting position of the contacting device 13, wherein the connecting position of the contacting device 13 is forcibly established by fastening the stator-rotor structural unit 3 in the fastening position on the supporting structure 2.The configuration according to the invention thus ensures that, during the mounting of the stator-rotor assembly 3 on the holding structure 2, the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side are automatically or forcibly brought into the connection position with the electrical contacts 17 and 18 on the carrier side and are thus electrically conductively connected to one another when the stator-rotor assembly 3 which has been previously detached from the supporting structure 2 is fastened to the supporting structure 2 in the fastening position. In other words, the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor structural unit 3 thus also automatically produces the electrical contacting. Both therefore occur during assembly in a single method step.A special feature of this first exemplary embodiment is that the axle bolts 21 and 22 not only serve for the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor structural unit 3 to the supporting structure 2 or the fastening devices 8 and 9 thereof, but also simultaneously form the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the structural unit side. In contrast, in this exemplary embodiment, the supporting structure 2 is designed such that the two fastening devices 8 and 9 are designed to be electrically insulated from one another and spaced apart from one another. In this exemplary embodiment, however, the fastening devices 8 and 9 also form the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18. For the electrically conductive connection of these fastening devices 8 and 9 and thus of the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18 to the electrical current source 14, the electrical lines 27 are provided in this exemplary embodiment.The controller 32 controls the electric power supply 14 such that the coil 11 generates the magnetic field 12 with the currently desired field strength in the receiving space 6. As a result, the viscosity of the magnetorheological medium 7 required for the currently desired rotational resistance of the rotor 5 is adjusted. By changing the current intensity with which the coil 11 is supplied, the resistance to rotation acting on the rotor 5 can thus also be varied and adjusted in the desired manner.In order to be able to determine the instantaneous position of the rotor 5 relative to the stator 4 or relative to the supporting structure 2 and the change thereof, a position sensor 33 known per se is present in this exemplary embodiment as well as in other preferred exemplary embodiments. In this exemplary embodiment, it has a first component attached to the rotor 5 and a second component attached to the supporting structure 2 or the fastening device 9. These can be encoders, incremental encoders or the like known per se. The aim is, in any case, that the position sensor 33 can measure the instantaneous relative position of the rotor 5 and its change, and optionally also the speed of the change. These measured values are then passed on to the controller 32 in this exemplary embodiment, as well as in other preferred exemplary embodiments. The controller 32 can then use the measured values supplied by the position sensor 33 together with other predefined values input, for example, via corresponding input devices, in order to set the electrical power supply 14 to the current supply to the coil 11 which is accordingly desired at the moment.The electrical connection of the coil 11 to the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side and thus, in this exemplary embodiment, to the axle bolts 21 and 22 takes place via the electrically conductive connections 19 and 20. The electrically conductive connection 20, which electrically conductively connects the other end 45 of the winding of the coil 11 to the axle bolt 22, is formed directly by the metallic body of the corresponding partial region of the stator 4 and of the axle bolt 22. Of course, this electrically conductive connection 20 could also be formed in the form of an electrically conductive cable insulated from the outside between the corresponding end 45 of the winding of the coil 11 and the axle pin 22.Preferably, the fastening devices 8 and 9, as also realized in this exemplary embodiment, are designed as part of a plug connection, in particular a latching connection. In this first exemplary embodiment, the contacting device 13 is also designed as a plug connection, in particular as a latching connection. This first exemplary embodiment is therefore a variant in which the fastening devices 8 and 9 are designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and renewed release of the mechanical connection between the stator-rotor structural unit 3 on the one hand and the supporting structure 2 on the other hand. Analogously, in this exemplary embodiment, the contacting device 13 is also designed here for multiple non-destructive connection and renewed release of the electrical connection between coil 11 and electrical power supply 14. In this exemplary embodiment, both are effected either by fastening the axle bolts 21 and 22 to the fastening devices 8 and 9 or by a corresponding release of this fastening.For this purpose, it can be provided, for example, as also realized in the first exemplary embodiment, that the fastening device 8 and 9 are fork-shaped. It can be seen well in FIGS. 4 to 7 that for this fork-shaped configuration the forks 36 and 37 are located at the corresponding upper ends of the fastening devices 8 and 9. These serve to receive and retain the axle bolts 21 and 22 of the stator 4 and thus of the stator-rotor assembly 3 in the fastening position.FIG. 2 now shows the stator-rotor assembly 3 of this first exemplary embodiment in an oblique view from above. It can be seen clearly in FIG. 2 that in this exemplary embodiment it is provided that the end of the axle bolt 22 protruding from the rotor 5 is designed in the form of a polygonal edge. In combination with the corresponding configuration of the fork 37 and thus of the fastening device 9, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, this results in the rotationally fixed connection of the stator 4 to the supporting structure 2 in the fastening position.FIG. 3 shows the section along the section line AA from FIG. 1 It can be seen here in particular that the stator 4 has a sequence of projections 34 and recesses 35 in this region on its outer contour pointing toward the receiving space 6. This results in a structure by which the magnetic field 12 is concentrated in the region of the projections 34 in the manner described under the term magnetic field concentrators in the aforementioned WO 2021 / 123343 A1.FIGS. 4 and 6 show, in corresponding, mutually opposite side views of the first exemplary embodiment, a situation in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is not yet fastened to the supporting structure 2. FIGS. 5 and 7 each show the corresponding fastening position in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is held with the axle bolts 21 and 22 of the stator 4 in the fastening position in the fastening devices 8 and 9. FIG. 5 shows particularly well the form fit between the polygonal portion of the axle bolt 22 and the correspondingly shaped fork 37 of the fastening device 9, which ensures the rotationally fixed holding of the stator 4 on the supporting structure 2.FIG. 8 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention in a sectional illustration, which represents a variant which is modified in comparison with the first exemplary embodiment. Accordingly, only the differences from the first exemplary embodiment will be discussed below and otherwise reference will be made to the explanations relating to the first exemplary embodiment.A substantial difference from the first exemplary embodiment in the second exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8 is that the two axle bolts 21 and 22 are not only arranged coaxially and are electrically insulated from one another, but also one axle bolt 21 is guided within the other axle bolt 22. The axle bolt 21 forms, so to speak, a core and the outer axle bolt 22 forms a jacket surrounding this core with the interposition of the electrical insulation 31.In this second exemplary embodiment, a common feature with the first exemplary embodiment is that here too the axle bolts 21 and 22 not only serve for the mechanical fastening or support of the stator-rotor structural unit 3 on the supporting structure 2, but also form the structural-unit-side electrical contacts 15 and 16. For this purpose, the axle bolt 21 is mounted in an electrically conductive manner in the fastening device 10 or its fork 38, while the axle bolt 22 is mounted in an electrically conductive manner in the fastening device 9 or its fork 37. Accordingly, in this exemplary embodiment, the fastening devices 9 and 10 are also connected to the electrical power supply 14 by means of electrical lines 27. The electrical contact between the coil 11 and the two axles 21 and 22 is made in principle as in the first exemplary embodiment.A further difference from the first exemplary embodiment is that in this second exemplary embodiment the rotor 5 is mounted rotatably on the stator 4 only on one side by means of the seal 28. On the other side, the rotor 5 has a rotor bearing bolt 43 with which it is rotatably mounted in the fastening device 8 of the supporting structure 2.The rotationally fixed connection between stator 4 and supporting structure 2 can be realized in this second exemplary embodiment by a corresponding form fit between at least one of fastening devices 9 and 10 and respective axle bolt 21 or 22, as is shown by way of example in the first exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5.FIGS. 9 and 10 now schematically and by way of example show a user interface 26 according to the invention for an electronic device, wherein the user interface 26 has a rotary brake 1 according to the invention and the rotor 5 can be loaded with the variable resistance to rotation in order to actuate the electronic device. The electronic device in this example is a game console 39 which comprises a joystick 40 known per se and a trigger lever 41. The trigger lever 41 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the rotor 5 of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. The stator-rotor assembly 3 of this rotary brake 1 is fastened by means of corresponding fastening devices 8, 9, 10 in the housing of the clearance bracket 39 and is also electrically contacted according to the invention. By means of the rotary brake 1 according to the invention, a predefinable and modifiable haptic feedback can be returned to the user when the trigger lever 41 is actuated. With the rotary brake 1 according to the invention it is thus possible to oppose a prescribable and also variable resistance to rotation to a pivoting movement of the trigger lever 41. By means of the rotary brake 1, detents or stops can also be realized at arbitrarily predeterminable positions of the trigger lever 41. In order to be able to generate an additional haptic signal, various vibrators or the like can be additionally installed in the game console 39. Of course, other control elements can also be integrated into the game console 39. FIG. 10 shows that a vibrator 42 for delivering an additional haptic signal can also be integrated directly into the trigger lever 41. This example shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is, of course, only one of many and should therefore not be considered limiting. There are numerous other possibilities for equipping user interfaces 26 for electronic devices with a rotary brake 1 according to the invention.A third exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. This exemplary embodiment has the most common features with the second exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8, so that only the differences from the second exemplary embodiment are explained in the following, and reference is otherwise made to the descriptions of the first and second exemplary embodiments.The essential difference from the second exemplary embodiment is that the stator 4 or its axle bolt 21 in this third exemplary embodiment does not form the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side. Rather, it is provided that the contacting device 13 is designed as an electrical plug connector 23 with two plug connector parts 24, 25, wherein one of the plug connector parts 24 comprises the structural unit-side electrical contacts 15, 16 and is arranged on the stator-rotor structural unit 3, preferably on the stator 4, and the other of the plug connector parts 25 comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17, 18 and is arranged on the supporting structure 2. The plug connector part 24, which comprises the structural unit-side electrical contacts 15 and 16, is fastened here to the stator 4 or its axle bolt 21. The plug connector part 25, which comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18, is fastened to the fastening device 9 of the supporting structure 2.FIG. 12 shows a side view of a state in which the stator-rotor structural unit 3 is not yet arranged in the fastening position. Accordingly, the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side are also not yet connected to the electrical contacts 17 and 18 on the carrier side. The contacting device 13 is thus not yet in the connecting position in FIG. 12. The two plug connector parts 24 and 25 of the electrical plug connector 23 are still separated from one another.This is different in FIG. 13, in which the rotary brake 1 is shown in the fully assembled position. The stator-rotor structural unit 3 is thus located in the fastening position in which it is fastened to the supporting structure 2 or its fastening device 8 and 9. Accordingly, in FIG. 13, the plug connector parts 24 and 25 are also completely inserted into one another, so that the contacting device 13 is in the connecting position. According to the invention, it is also provided in this exemplary embodiment that the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly 3 to the supporting structure 2 automatically leads to the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side being connected to the electrical contacts 17 and 18 on the carrier side. The rotationally fixed connection between the supporting structure 2 and the stator 4 of this exemplary embodiment is achieved, as in the first exemplary embodiment, by means of the positive connection between the fork 37 or the fastening device 9 and the axle bolt 21.It can also be seen well in FIG. 11 that in this exemplary embodiment the electrically conductive connections 19 and 20 between the coil 11 and the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the component side are led through the stator 4, for example as a cable.FIGS. 14 to 16 now show a fourth exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. Here too, only the differences from the exemplary embodiments described so far are discussed and reference is otherwise made to the above explanations.In this exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 14 to 16, the stator 4 is now designed as a type of housing in which the rotor 5 is rotatably mounted. The sealing of the receiving space 6 for the magnetorheological medium 7 arranged between the stator 4 and the rotor 5 is in turn sealed by means of the seal 28. For the functioning of the rotary brake 1, reference can be made to the above descriptions.The stator 4 is held in the fastening position here in two fastening devices 8 and 9 of the supporting structure 2, as can be seen in FIGS. 14 and 16. In this exemplary embodiment, too, the fastening devices 8 and 9 again have forks 36 and 37, which serve to receive the stator 4 and also ensure the rotationally fixed fastening of the stator 4 to the supporting structure 2.In this exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 14 to 16, however, it is now the case that the fastening devices 8 and 9 serve exclusively for the mechanical fastening of the stator 4. In this fourth exemplary embodiment, the electrical contacting of the coil 11 is effected via a contacting device 13, which is in turn designed as an electrical plug connector 23. A first plug connector part 24 is arranged on the stator 4, which includes the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side. In this exemplary embodiment, the corresponding plug connector part 25 is fixed to the support structure 2 or to its base 30, which plug connector part comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18. In this variant, too, it is provided that during the assembly of the stator-rotor structural unit 3 in the supporting structure 2, automatically or in other words necessarily also the connecting position of the contacting device 13 is reached. Here too, it is therefore provided according to the invention that by fastening the stator-rotor structural unit 3 in the fastening position on the supporting structure 2 it is set positively in the connecting position of the contacting device 13. In this fourth exemplary embodiment as well, the fastening devices 8 and 9 are designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and loosening again, just like the contacting device 13, which is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and loosening again.L e g e n d e1 Rotary brake 2 Supporting structure 3 Stator-rotor assembly 4 Stator 5 Rotor 6 Receiving space 7 Magnetorheological medium 8 Fastening device 9 Fastening device 10 Fastening device 11 Coil 12 Magnetic field 13 Contacting device 14 Electrical power supply 15 Assembly-side electrical contact 16 Assembly-side electrical contact 17 Carrier-side electrical contact 18 Carrier-side electrical contact 19 Electrically conductive connection 20 Electrically conductive connection 21 Axle bolt 22 Axle bolt 23 Electrical plug connector 24 Plug connector part 25 Plug connector part 26 User interface 27 Electrical line 28 Seal 29 Magnetizable ring 30 Base 31 Electrical insulation 32 Controller 33 Position sensor 34 Projection 35 Recess 36 Fork 37 Fork 38 Fork 39 Game console 40 Joystick 41 Trigger lever 42 Vibrator 43 Rotor bearing bolt 44 End 45 EndReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2019 129 548 A1

[0002] WO 2021 / 123343 A1 [0003, 0014, 0047]

Claims

Rotary brake (1) which has a supporting structure (2) and a stator-rotor structural unit (3) with a stator (4) and a rotor (5), wherein a receiving space (6) of the stator-rotor structural unit (3) is formed between the stator (4) and the rotor (5) and a magnetorheological medium (7) is arranged in the receiving space (6), wherein the stator-rotor structural unit (3) can be fastened to the supporting structure (2) in a fastening position by means of at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) of the supporting structure (2) and, in the fastening position, the stator (4) is fastened to the supporting structure (2) in a rotationally fixed manner and the rotor (5) is rotatably mounted relative to the stator (4), wherein the stator-rotor assembly (3) has a coil (11) for generating a magnetic field (12) of variable field strength and the rotary brake (1) has a contacting device (13) for contacting the coil (11) with an electrical power supply (14), wherein a rotational resistance acting on the rotor (5) can be adjusted by changing the field strength of the magnetic field (12) by means of a change in a viscosity of the magnetorheological medium (7), characterized in that the contacting device (13) has at least two assembly-side electrical contacts (15, 16) arranged on the stator-rotor assembly (3) and at least two carrier-side electrical contacts (17, 18) arranged on the supporting structure (2), and the assembly-side electrical contacts (15, 16) are electrically conductively connected to one another with the carrier-side electrical contacts (17, 18) in a connecting position of the contacting device (13), wherein by fastening the stator-rotor assembly (3) in the fastening position to the supporting structure (2) the connecting position of the contacting device (13) is forcibly established.Rotary brake (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the fastening device (8, 9, 10) is formed as part of a plug connection, preferably a latching connection, and / or the contacting device (13) is formed as a plug connection, preferably as a latching connection.Rotary brake (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) is designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and re-release and the contacting device (13) is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and re-release.Rotary brake (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the coil (11) is arranged on and / or in the stator (4) and the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the structural unit side are arranged on the stator (4), wherein provision is preferably made for electrically conductive connections (19, 20) between the coil (11) and the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the structural unit side to be formed in the stator (4) and / or to be passed through the stator (4).Rotary brake (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) is of fork-shaped design, and / or wherein the supporting structure (2) has at least two fastening devices (8, 9, 10) arranged at a distance from one another.Rotary brake (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the stator (4) has two axle bolts (21, 22) which are electrically insulated from one another and are preferably arranged coaxially with respect to one another.Rotary brake (1) according to Claim 6, wherein the axle bolts (21, 22) form the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side.Rotary brake (1) according to Claim 6 or 7, wherein the supporting structure (2) has at least two fastening devices (8, 9, 10) which are electrically insulated from one another, wherein the stator (4) is fastened to the fastening devices (8, 9, 10) with its axle bolts (21, 22) in the fastening position and the fastening devices (8, 9, 10) form the carrier-side electrical contacts (17, 18).Rotary brake (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the contacting device (13) is designed as an electrical plug connector (23) having two plug connector parts (24, 25), wherein one of the plug connector parts (24) comprises the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side and is arranged on the stator-rotor assembly (3), preferably on the stator (4), and the other of the plug connector parts (25) comprises the electrical contacts (17, 18) on the carrier side and is arranged on the supporting structure (2).User interface (26) for an electronic device, wherein the user interface (26) has a rotary brake (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 9, and the rotor (5) can be acted upon with the variable resistance to rotation in order to actuate the electronic device.

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