Electromechanical radiator thermostat

Abstract

An electromechanical radiator thermostat (1) with a rotatably mounted handwheel (8) is described, which can be rotated by the hand of a user on an outer grip surface and is coupled with a rotary angle sensor unit, wherein the handwheel (8) together with the rotary angle sensor unit forms an adjustable input means for the radiator thermostat (1). The rotary angle sensor unit has a first magnetic ring (3a) with a plurality of magnetic elements (17) arranged on a first circular path and a second magnetic ring (3b) movable relative to it with a plurality of magnetic elements (19) arranged on a second circular path, wherein the first and second magnetic rings (3a, 3b) are arranged next to each other and are designed to engage in rotary angle detent positions defined by the opposite polarity of adjacent pairs of magnetic elements (17, 19) of the first and second magnetic rings (3a, 3b).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an electromechanical radiator thermostat with a rotatably mounted handwheel which can be turned by a user's hand on an outer grip surface and is coupled to a rotary angle sensor unit, wherein the handwheel together with the rotary angle sensor unit forms an adjustable input means for the radiator thermostat.

[0002] DE 20 220 379 U1 discloses a detent device for a rotatable component. The detent is achieved using magnets. At least one magnet can interact with a steel element. It is also conceivable that at least two magnetic rings are provided, polarized on their inner and outer diameters and interacting reciprocally. The magnetic detent device consists of at least one magnet and a steel wheel, which is preferably located on the circumference of the component. This at least one magnet generates an attractive force on the steel wheel, which has notches on its circumference. Through these notches, the magnet pulls the wheel, which is rotatably mounted on its central axis, into the desired positions when an operator rotates the component.

[0003] DE 196 46 998 A1 discloses a detent mechanism with a non-contact magnetic detent, which comprises a rotatable detent wheel with a permanent magnet arrangement and a magnetically interacting stationary counter-detent arrangement. The counter-detent arrangement interacts with the detent wheel via an air gap, with a magnetic field that changes as the detent wheel rotates. The permanent magnet arrangement has a magnetization aligned parallel to the axis of the detent wheel. A first disk made of magnetizable material, formed as part of the detent wheel and provided with tooth-like projections on its circumference, is arranged on one magnetic pole of the permanent magnet arrangement. A second disk made of magnetizable material, also formed as part of the detent wheel, is arranged on the other magnetic pole of the permanent magnet arrangement.The counter-latch arrangement has at least one magnetizable area extending from the toothed circumferential edge of the first disk to the axially adjacent edge of the second disk, which has projections near the first disk that interact magnetically across the air gap with its teeth or extensions.

[0004] DE 10 2017 126 490 A1 discloses a door lock drive device designed to drive a door lock between a locked and an unlocked position, comprising a drive unit for providing drive torque, a torque transmission unit for transmitting the drive torque to the door lock, and an optical sensor unit for optically detecting movement of the torque transmission unit. A magnetic angle detection system using Hall sensors is also described.

[0005] DE 199 61 201 B4 discloses a sewing machine with a main shaft that includes a handwheel. The handwheel forms the rotor of a transverse flux motor, the stator being rotationally fixed to the sewing head of the sewing machine. The handwheel has a cylindrical section with radially inwardly projecting magnetic backplates, on which radially inwardly projecting magnetic elements are mounted at axial intervals. U-shaped pole segments extending radially outward are arranged on the stator, aligned radially with the magnetic elements, and each pole segment contains a winding.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to create an improved electromechanical radiator thermostat.

[0007] The problem is solved by the electromechanical radiator thermostat with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims and described below.

[0008] It is proposed that the rotation angle sensor unit comprise a first magnetic ring with a plurality of magnetic elements arranged on a first circular path and a second magnetic ring movable relative to this, with a plurality of magnetic elements arranged on a second circular path, wherein the first and second magnetic rings are arranged side by side and are designed to engage in rotation angle detent positions defined by the opposite polarity of adjacent pairs of magnetic elements of the first and second magnetic rings.

[0009] The first magnetic ring can be rotatably connected to the handwheel as a rotor, and the second magnetic ring can be designed to be non-rotatable as a stator.

[0010] The magnetic rings can be designed as active magnetic rings or as passive magnetic rings that provide a polarized magnetic flux with a magnetic force connection between active magnets.

[0011] This allows changes in the rotation angle to be detected easily and reliably through haptic feedback and measured by the rotation angle sensor unit by measuring the change in the magnetic field. The rotation angle sensor unit, with its simple design, can be integrated very compactly into the radiator thermostat and connected to the handwheel, which is accessible from the outside.

[0012] The first and second magnetic rings can be arranged side-by-side in the axial direction on circular tracks of approximately the same diameter. This results in a compact design with respect to radial height. Alternatively, the circular tracks of the first and second magnetic rings can each have different diameters and be arranged radially inside one another at approximately the same axial position. This allows for a more compact design with respect to axial length.

[0013] The magnetic elements of an (active) magnetic ring can be designed as permanent magnets distributed around the circumference with alternating polarity. Thus, the magnetic elements of either the first or second magnetic ring, or of both magnetic rings, can be permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are arranged in such a way that the opposite positive and negative poles of a permanent magnet extend circumferentially, and the negative pole of the next permanent magnet is located next to the positive pole of the first. The length of the permanent magnets determines the rotational angle increment by which the handwheel is turned from one detent position to the next.

[0014] The magnetic elements of a (passive) magnetic ring can be formed from magnetizable magnetic field closure elements, such as pole shoes. The magnetic ring can be designed as a passive magnetizable component or, optionally, as an electromagnet with short-circuited windings. The magnetic ring can have a stator lamination and a plurality of pole shoes distributed around the circumference of the stator lamination. The magnetic field closure is achieved via the stator lamination. The pole shoes are distributed around the circumference and define the detent positions through their position and interaction with the counter-magnetic elements, such as permanent magnets. The pole shoes are made of a magnetizable material with high permeability. They can optionally carry a winding of an electric magnetic coil.However, a simpler construction of the magnetic ring is one with pole shoes connected to each other via a common stator lamination, which project from the plane spanned by the stator lamination or the circumferential path described by the stator lamination in the direction of the magnetic elements of the other magnetic ring.

[0015] The second magnetic ring can be fixedly connected to the electromagnetic radiator thermostat as a stator. The handwheel can be fixedly connected to the first magnetic ring and rotated relative to the fixed second magnetic ring.

[0016] The second magnet ring, designed as a rotationally fixed stator, can have pole shoes connected to each other via a stator lamination. This second magnet ring, designed with magnetizable pole shoes, can interact with a first magnet ring formed by permanent magnets. For this purpose, the magnetic elements of the first magnet ring are designed as permanent magnets distributed around the circumference with alternating polarity.

[0017] The pole shoes can point radially inwards from the stator lamination. The stator lamination can be arranged concentrically around an inner first magnetic ring that is statically connected to the housing of the radiator thermostat. This places the rotatably mounted second magnetic ring of the handwheel radially outside the housing's non-rotatable first magnetic ring. This allows for a compact and highly effective magnetic arrangement, in which changes in the handwheel's rotation angle can be reliably measured from changes in the magnetic field.

[0018] The magnetic elements of a magnetic ring can be arranged side by side such that the rotation angle increments of successive detent positions are constant around the circumference. However, at least one phase-shifted magnetic element can be offset by half a magnetic pole and therefore does not have a constant rotation angle increment. This provides a phase-shifted magnetic field at the phase-shifted magnetic element. The rotation angle sensor unit can be configured to determine the direction of rotation from the phase-shifted magnetic field generated by the phase-shifted magnetic element. The detent positions defined by the constant rotation angle increments are, on the other hand, provided by the remaining, non-phase-shifted magnetic elements.

[0019] A Hall sensor may be provided for detecting the magnetic field generated by the magnetic elements of the first magnetic ring connected to the handwheel, wherein the rotation angle sensor unit is set up to determine the rotational position of the handwheel and / or the relative rotation angle increments from the magnetic field signal of the Hall sensor.

[0020] Two magnetic field sensors can be present to detect the magnetic field generated by the magnetic elements of the first magnetic ring connected to the handwheel, forming a sensor pair. The rotation angle sensor unit is configured to determine the direction of rotation of the handwheel from phase-shifted magnetic field signals from the magnetic field sensors. This does not preclude the presence of further rotation angle sensors, possibly also in the form of magnetic field sensors. Hall effect sensors are particularly suitable as magnetic field sensors due to their compact size and energy efficiency.

[0021] The at least one Hall sensor can, for example, be installed in openings in a stator lamination. With their compact design, the Hall sensors allow for a simple and reliable measurement of the changes in the rotation angle of the handwheel resulting from the changing magnetic field caused by the rotation of the handwheel and the associated first magnet ring.

[0022] The handwheel can be mounted on an outer ring of a rotary bearing. An inner ring of the rotary bearing can be mounted on a pin.

[0023] The pin can be made of a transparent, light-conducting material. A light source can be coupled to the pin. The transparent, light-conducting material is routed to the outside of the electromechanical radiator thermostat in the area of ​​the handwheel for illumination.

[0024] The invention is described below by way of example with reference to an embodiment and the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1 - schematic sketch of an electromechanical radiator thermostat with rotatable handwheel and magnetic rings; Fig. 2 - Side section view of an electromechanical radiator thermostat; Fig. 3 - Front sectional view of the electromechanical radiator thermostat made of Fig. 2.

[0025] Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic sketch of an electromechanical radiator thermostat 1 with rotatably mounted handwheel 2 and magnetic rings 3a, 3b.

[0026] The radiator thermostat 1 has a housing 4 in which a drive unit 5 is installed. This drive unit is coupled via a gearbox 6 to a linearly movable actuating pin 7. The actuating pin 7 interacts with a valve of a heating system. The housing 4 is positively connected to the valve via a fastening unit 4a, such as a union nut. For this purpose, the union nut can be screwed onto an external thread of the valve.

[0027] The front of the housing 4 is covered by a handwheel 8, which is rotatably mounted relative to the housing 4 by a rolling bearing 9. The rolling bearing 9 has an outer ring 10 connected to the handwheel 8, an inner ring 11, and balls 12 distributed around the circumference between the outer ring and the inner ring 11. The inner ring 11 can be connected to a pin 13, which forms an integral part of the housing 4 or is rotationally fixed to the housing 4. The pin 13 can have at least a transparent or semi-transparent section designed as a light guide and interact with a light source 14, such as a light-emitting diode mounted on a circuit board 15. It is conceivable that the entire pin 13 is made of transparent or semi-transparent plastic material.

[0028] At least the area 8a of the handwheel 8 adjoining the pin 13 has translucent sections or is entirely translucent. However, it is also conceivable that the pin 13 forms a rotationally fixed outer area encompassed by a central opening of the handwheel 8.

[0029] The pin 13 and the housing 4 are connected by a bearing plate 16, which is rotationally fixed and carries the first magnetic ring 3a. The first magnetic ring 3a has a plurality of permanent magnets 17 distributed around its circumference, the polarities (+, -) of which are alternately aligned along the circumference. The positive and negative poles, or north and south poles, of the permanent magnets 17 thus alternate in the circumferential direction.

[0030] The second magnet ring 3b is arranged next to the permanent magnets 17 of the first magnet ring 3a, spaced apart by an air gap. The second magnet ring 3b is fixedly connected to the handwheel 8 and is thus rotatably mounted relative to the housing 4. The second magnet ring 3b has a stator lamination 18 from which pole shoes 19 project around its circumference. Each pole shoe 19 is aligned with an associated permanent magnet 17. The number of pole shoes 19 of the second magnet ring 3b, distributed around its circumference, preferably corresponds exactly to the number of adjacent permanent magnets 17 of the first magnet ring 3a, also distributed around its circumference.

[0031] Adjacent to the magnetic rings 3a, 3b, at least one magnetic field sensor 20, such as a Hall sensor element, is arranged, which is connected to a rotary angle detection unit 21. The rotary angle detection unit 21 can, for example, be a suitably programmed logic of a microcontroller or microprocessor 22.

[0032] The rotation angle detection unit 21 together with the first and second magnetic ring 3a, 3b and the at least one magnetic field sensor 20 forms a rotation angle sensor unit.

[0033] It can be seen that the rotary angle sensor unit has a first magnetic ring 3a with a plurality of magnetic elements (permanent magnets 17) arranged on a first circular path and a second magnetic ring 3b movable relative to it, with a plurality of magnetic elements (permeable, magnetizable pole shoes 19) arranged on a second circular path. The first and second magnetic rings 3a, 3b are arranged side by side and are designed to engage in rotary angle detent positions defined by the opposite polarity of adjacent pairs of magnetic elements 17, 19 of the first and second magnetic rings 3a, 3b. The opposite polarity of the immediately adjacent permanent magnets 17 and pole shoes 19 is achieved in the area of ​​the pole shoes 19 by the magnetic closure via the stator lamination 18.

[0034] Fig. Figure 2 shows a side section view of an electromechanical radiator thermostat 1.

[0035] It can be seen that the handwheel 8 is connected to the outer ring 10 of the rolling bearing 9, e.g., by means of an interference fit and / or a material bond, and engages the end face of the housing 4 with a flange on its outer circumference. The handwheel 8 is covered on its front side by a plate 8b, which forms the translucent area 8a or at least has this in the central area of ​​the adjacent pin 13. At the end of the pin 13 diametrically opposite the translucent area 8a, a light source 14 in the form of a light-emitting diode element is soldered onto the circuit board 15. This emits light via the pin 13 into the translucent area 8b of the handwheel 8.

[0036] The outer ring 10 of the rolling bearing 9 is connected via a bearing plate 23 to the first magnetic ring 3a, which has a plurality of permanent magnets 17 arranged next to each other in the circumferential direction, the poles of which (positive and negative pole or south and north pole) alternate.

[0037] Radially outside the first magnetic ring 3a, spaced apart by an air gap, is arranged the second magnetic ring 3b, which is directly or indirectly connected to the inner ring 11 of the rolling bearing 9 in a rotationally fixed manner via the bearing plate 16.

[0038] The first magnet ring 3a has a rotating stator lamination 18 arranged on a circular path, from which a plurality of pole shoes 19 project towards the first magnet ring 3a. In the locked position, each pole shoe 19 is aligned with an associated permanent magnet 17.

[0039] To measure the rotation of the handwheel 8 relative to the housing 4, magnetic field sensors 20 are arranged on a circuit board 24 and aligned with the magnetic rings 3a, 3b. The magnetic field sensors 20 can be arranged in an opening of the stator lamination 18 and aligned with the adjacent permanent magnets 17 of the first magnetic ring 3a. However, it is advantageous if the magnetic field sensors 20 are positioned adjacent to each pole shoe 19. It is particularly advantageous if one pole shoe 19 is arranged offset between two permanent magnets 17 in the detent position. This results in a phase-shifted sensor signal which, with respect to the non-phase-shifted sensor signal of a second magnetic field sensor 20 aligned with a pole shoe 19 not offset, enables detection of the direction of rotation.

[0040] Furthermore, an electric push button 25 can be mounted on the circuit board 15. The handwheel 8 or the bearing plate 16 can be flexibly or movably mounted such that a pressure force on the front of the handwheel 8 leads to actuation of the push button 25. For this purpose, the push button 25 is coupled to the handwheel 8 or the bearing plate 16 or another section of the radiator thermostat 1 by its movable release plunger or release arm.

[0041] Fig. Figure 3 shows a front sectional view of the electromechanical radiator thermostat 1. Fig. 2.

[0042] It can be seen that the first magnetic ring 3a has a plurality of permanent magnets 17 arranged side by side around its circumference, alternating their poles. The first magnetic ring 3a is connected to the outer ring 10 of the rolling bearing 9. The inner ring 11 is connected with its inner circumferential wall to the outer circumference of the optionally preferably translucent pin 13.

[0043] Radially outside the first magnet ring 3a is the second magnet ring 3b, which has the surrounding stator lamination 18 and a plurality of pole shoes 19 projecting towards the permanent magnets 17. The pole shoes 19 are made of a magnetizable material with high permeability. They are connected to the stator lamination 18, which is made of a magnetizable material such as an iron alloy or ferrite. This creates a magnetic connection, so that the pole shoes 19 polarize with the opposite polarity to the polarity of the adjacent permanent magnet 17 and the handwheel 8 locks in every position where the pole shoes 19 are located next to a pole of a permanent magnet. To turn the handwheel 8, the perceptible magnetic resistance must be overcome, causing the handwheel 8 to jump to the next detent position. The rotation, and in particular the angle of rotation achieved, is perceptible to the user by the number of detent positions overcome.

[0044] It can be seen that the stator lamination 18 has an opening 18a in its upper region. Two magnetic field sensors 20, e.g., Hall sensors, are arranged side by side on the circuit board 24 and aligned with the opening 18a towards an adjacent pole shoe 19. A phase-shifted pole shoe 19a is present – ​​omitting one pole shoe 19 – (the left pole shoe 19a in the image). This phase-shifted pole shoe 19a is positioned relative to the other pole shoes 19 such that, in the depicted detent position, it is aligned with the transition between two poles (positive-negative or north-south) of the permanent magnets 17. Thus, the sensor signals of the two magnetic field sensors 20 for the respective magnetic field in the associated pole shoes 19a and 19 are offset from each other by 90°. This enables the direction of rotation to be detected.

[0045] As an alternative to the construction shown, the first magnet ring 3a formed from permanent magnets 17 can also be arranged as a radially outer magnet ring and the second magnet ring 3b formed from stator lamination and pole shoes as a radially inner magnet ring.

[0046] Another possible variant is in which the two magnetic rings 3a, 3b are arranged axially next to each other on circular paths with approximately the same diameter.

[0047] Both magnetic rings 3a, 3b can also be constructed with permanent magnets 17. Reference symbol list 1 radiator thermostat 2 Handwheel 3a first magnetic ring 3b second magnetic rings 4 cases 4a Mounting unit 5 Drive unit 6 gearboxes 7 Actuating pin 8 Handwheel 8a translucent area 9 rolling bearings 10 Outer ring 11 Inner ring 12 balls 13 cones 14 Light source 15 circuit boards 16 bearing plate 17 Permanent magnet 18 stator laminations 18a Opening 19 Polschuh 19a phase-shifted pole shoe 20 Magnetic field sensor 21 Rotation angle detection unit 22 Microprocessor 23 bearing plate 24 circuit boards 25 buttons QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 20 220 379 U1

[0002] DE 196 46 998 A1

[0003] DE 10 2017 126 490 A1

[0004] DE 199 61 201 B4

[0005]

Claims

[1] Electromechanical radiator thermostat (1) with a rotatably mounted handwheel (8) which can be turned by hand by a user on an outer grip surface and is coupled to a rotary angle sensor unit, wherein the handwheel (8) together with the rotary angle sensor unit forms an adjustable input means for the radiator thermostat (1), characterized by , that the rotation angle sensor unit comprises a first magnetic ring (3a) with a plurality of magnetic elements (17) arranged on a first circular path and a second magnetic ring (3b) movable relative to this, with a plurality of magnetic elements (19) arranged on a second circular path, wherein the first and second magnetic rings (3a, 3b) are arranged side by side and are designed to engage in rotation angle detent positions defined by the opposite polarity of adjacent pairs of magnetic elements (17, 19) of the first and second magnetic rings (3a, 3b). [2] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the magnetic elements (17) of a magnetic ring (3a) are designed as permanent magnets (17) distributed over the circumference with alternating polarity. [3] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the magnetic elements (19) of a magnetic ring (3b) are designed as pole shoes (19), wherein the magnetic ring (3b) has a stator lamination (18) from which the pole shoes (19) extend distributed over the circumference. [4] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 3, characterized by, that the second magnet ring (3b) is connected as a stator in a rotationally fixed manner to the electromagnetic heating element thermostat (1) and has the pole shoes (19), and that the handwheel (8) is connected to the first magnet ring (3a) in a rotationally fixed manner and is rotatable relative to the rotationally fixed second magnet ring (3b), wherein the magnet elements (17) of the first magnet ring (3a) are designed as permanent magnets (17) distributed over the circumference with alternating polarity. [5] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 4, characterized by , that the pole shoes (19) of stator lamination (18) point radially inwards and the stator lamination (18) is arranged concentrically around the inner first magnet ring (3a) of the handwheel (8). [6] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the magnetic elements (17, 19) of a magnetic ring (3a, 3b) are arranged next to each other with constant rotation angle increments around the circumference, and that at least one phase-shifted magnetic element (19a) is arranged offset by half a magnetic pole, wherein the rotation angle sensor unit is set up to determine the direction of rotation from the phase-shifted magnetic field caused by the phase-shifted magnetic element (19a). [7] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a magnetic field sensor (20) for detecting the magnetic field generated by the magnetic elements (17) of the first magnetic ring (3a) connected to the handwheel (8), wherein the rotation angle sensor unit is configured to determine the rotation position of the handwheel (8) and / or the relative rotation angle increments from the magnetic field signal of the magnetic field sensor (20). [8] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 7, characterized bytwo magnetic field sensors (20) for detecting the magnetic field generated by the magnetic elements (17) of the first magnetic ring (3a) connected to the handwheel (8), wherein the rotation angle sensor unit is set up to determine the direction of rotation of the handwheel (8) from phase-shifted magnetic field signals of the magnetic field sensors (20). [9] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the handwheel (8) is mounted on an outer ring (10) of a rolling bearing (9) and an inner ring (11) of the rolling bearing (9) is mounted on a pin (13). [10] Electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) according to claim 9, characterized by, that the cone (13) has a transparent light-conducting material, that a light source (13) is coupled to the cone (13), and that the transparent light-conducting material in the area of ​​the handwheel (8) is led to the outside of the electromagnetic radiator thermostat (1) for illumination.

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