Actuating unit for a vehicle flap and vehicle flap

Abstract

The present invention relates to an actuating unit (100) for opening and closing a vehicle flap, in particular a loading flap for a vehicle, and to a vehicle flap. The actuating unit (100) comprises a housing unit (110), an actuator device (120) arranged in the housing unit (110) for opening and closing the vehicle flap, and a sensor device (130) arranged in the housing unit (110) for detecting a desire to open and close the vehicle flap.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an actuating unit for a vehicle flap, such as a charging plug flap, for a vehicle and a vehicle flap.

[0002] A variety of triggering and control devices for vehicles are known from the prior art for triggering and controlling the opening and closing process of a vehicle flap, such as a tailgate, front flap, side flap, fuel tank flap, charging connector flap, or service flap of the vehicle. Such triggering and control devices are designed to enable the operator to open or close the vehicle flap. The opening can be triggered directly via an electrical switch or indirectly via a button, such as a relay, which emits an electrical trigger signal depending on the user's actuation. The known triggering devices are sometimes arranged in a recess in the vehicle's outer skin. It is therefore desirable to design such triggering devices to be as compact as possible, in particular as flat as possible.

[0003] Other actuation and control units known from the prior art for triggering and controlling the opening and closing process of a vehicle door can be based on the capacitive or inductive principle, in which a metallic trigger element is moved at least partially relative to a corresponding capacitive or inductive sensor device to change the capacitance or inductance in order to initiate an opening or closing process of the vehicle door. Simple (micro)switches are also known in which an electromechanical switch must be actuated to trigger both the opening and closing processes.

[0004] In the known actuation units, the actuator device and the sensor device for detecting a request to operate the vehicle lid are spatially separated and each equipped with separate electronics. For this reason, such known actuation units are complex and require extensive integration, particularly with regard to cabling, integration into the existing installation space, and the necessary multiple sealing.

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an actuating device for triggering an opening or closing operation of a vehicle flap, which operates in a simple, compact, robust and reliable manner.

[0006] This object is achieved with an actuating unit according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are specified in the subclaims.

[0007] The present invention is essentially based on the idea of ​​arranging an actuator device designed to open and close a vehicle tailgate and a sensor device designed to detect a request to open and close the vehicle tailgate in a common housing unit. This makes it possible to create a compact actuation unit that, despite the space constraints prevailing in the field of vehicle tailgates, can provide both the actuation request and the actuator with sufficient power to open and close the vehicle tailgate.

[0008] Accordingly, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an actuating unit for opening and closing a vehicle tailgate, in particular a tailgate for a vehicle, is disclosed. The actuating unit according to the invention comprises a housing unit, an actuator device arranged in the housing unit for opening and closing the vehicle tailgate, and a sensor device arranged in the housing unit for detecting an intention to open or close the vehicle tailgate. Thus, both the actuator device and the sensor device are housed in a single, common housing unit.

[0009] In an advantageous embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention further comprises an electronics unit arranged in the housing unit, which comprises electronic components for both the actuator device and the sensor device. In such an advantageous embodiment, a common electronics unit is also provided, which provides electronic components for both devices, i.e., the actuator unit and the sensor unit.

[0010] Preferably, the electronics unit comprises a circuit board on which the electronic components for the actuator unit and the sensor unit are arranged. Electrical connections between the circuit board and the actuator unit and the sensor unit can be established using suitable electrical lines.

[0011] In a further preferred embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention further comprises a light unit for illuminating the vehicle tailgate and / or for communication and status display. According to such an embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention can be equipped with an additional function, namely illuminating the vehicle tailgate. The vehicle tailgate can preferably be illuminated in different colors to thereby display different information, such as, for example, in the case of a charging tailgate, a completed charging process or an interruption of the charging process, or a charging status or charging speed of the vehicle's battery.

[0012] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the actuating unit according to the invention, the sensor device is based on an inductive, capacitive, resistive, contact-based, ultrasound-based, radar-based, optically based and / or force-based measuring principle for detecting the desire to open and close the vehicle lid.

[0013] In a further preferred embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention further comprises a further sensor device arranged in the housing unit for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle. For example, the further sensor device can be an environmental sensor for detecting obstacles, such as people or objects, in the surroundings of the vehicle. The further sensor device can also be designed to detect an opening gesture of a user of the vehicle. Furthermore, it can be preferred for the sensor device and the further sensor device to be a single sensor device. In addition to detecting the desire to open and close the vehicle lid, the sensor device can also be designed to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle. Further radio modules for near-field communication, such asNear Field Communication (NFC) or medium-range communication, such as Bluetooth, Ultra Wideband (UWB), and / or Wi-Fi, can also be integrated. Common angle or displacement sensors, such as analog sliders or digital potentiometers, could also be housed in the housing unit.

[0014] In a further advantageous embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention further comprises a locking device arranged in the housing unit for locking the vehicle lid. For example, the locking device can be designed to lock the actuator device in a predetermined position, for example, by self-locking. Alternatively or additionally, the locking device can be a locking pin designed to hold the vehicle lid in a predetermined position, such as a closed position.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the actuating unit according to the invention, the actuator device has an output shaft extending from the interior of the housing unit through the housing wall to the outside, which output shaft can be coupled to the vehicle flap.

[0016] In a further preferred embodiment, the actuating unit according to the invention further comprises a coupling device arranged on an outer side of the housing unit, which is designed to interact with the sensor device. For example, the coupling device can be a conductive polymer foam that can interact with a capacitive sensor device.

[0017] According to a further aspect of the present invention, a vehicle flap for a vehicle with an actuating unit according to the invention is disclosed.

[0018] Further advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by practicing the teachings described herein and viewing the accompanying drawing, which shows a schematic representation of an actuating unit for a vehicle flap according to the invention.

[0019] The Fig. 1 shows an actuating unit 100 according to the invention for opening and closing a vehicle flap (in the Fig. 1 not shown), such as a tailgate, front flap, side flap, fuel tank flap, charging connector flap, or service flap of a vehicle. The actuating unit 100 comprises a housing unit 110, an actuator device 120 arranged in the housing unit 110, and a sensor device 130 arranged in the housing unit 110.

[0020] The actuator device 120 may, as in the exemplary example of Fig. 1, an electric motor unit 122 including a transmission and a coupled output shaft 124 extending through the housing wall of the housing unit 110 and which can be coupled to the vehicle lid for opening and closing the same. The actuator unit 120 can be, for example, a DC or BLDC motor.

[0021] The sensor device 130 can, for example, be based on an inductive, capacitive, ultrasound-based, radar-based and / or force-based measuring principle for detecting the desire to open or close the vehicle lid.

[0022] The actuating device 100 of the Fig. 1 also includes an electronics unit 140 arranged in the housing unit 110, which contains electronic components for both the actuator device 120 and the sensor device 130. For example, the electronics unit 140 can be a printed circuit board equipped with the electronic components for the actuator device 120 and the sensor device 130. The electronics unit 140 is connected to the actuator device 120 and the sensor device 130 by means of suitable electrical connections 142, 144.

[0023] The electronics unit 140 further comprises a connecting line 146 that electrically connects the actuating unit 100 according to the invention, more precisely the electronics unit 140, to an external control device (not shown). The connecting line 146 is preferably a LIN bus connection and a power supply.

[0024] The operating unit 100 of the Fig. 1 further comprises a further sensor device 150, which is designed to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle. For example, the further sensor device 150 can be an environmental sensor for detecting obstacles, such as people and / or objects, in the surroundings of the vehicle. Preferably, the sensor device 130 and the further sensor device 150 are a single sensor device. In addition to detecting the intention to open and close the vehicle lid, the sensor device 130 can be designed to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle. A radar-based measurement method is preferably used for this purpose.

[0025] The electronics unit 140 also provides the electrical components for the further sensor device 150.

[0026] The operating unit 100 of the Fig.1 also includes a light unit 160 for illuminating the vehicle door. The light unit 160 can, for example, be an LED light that can display different information by illuminating the vehicle door with different colors. For example, a completed charging process of the vehicle's battery can be indicated by a green light. The light unit 160 can be provided with suitable light distribution means, such as light guides, to customize the illumination of the vehicle door.

[0027] The light unit 160 can preferably be mounted on an outer side of the housing unit 110. Alternatively, the light unit 160 can be arranged inside the housing unit 110, wherein the aforementioned light distribution means direct the light generated by the light unit 160 from the interior of the housing unit 110 to the outside for illuminating the vehicle door.

[0028] The electronics unit 140 also provides the electrical components for the lighting unit 160.

[0029] The actuation unit 100 further comprises a coupling device 170 arranged on an outer side of the housing unit 110, which is designed to interact with the sensor device 130. For example, the coupling device 170 can be a conductive foam that can interact with a capacitive sensor device. Furthermore, it is possible to use a metallic spring element with a flat electrode at its end for the coupling to the vehicle's outer skin.

[0030] The actuating unit 100 further comprises a locking device 180 arranged in the housing unit 110 for locking the vehicle lid. For example, the locking device 180 can be designed to lock the actuator device 120 in a predetermined position, for example, by self-locking. Alternatively or additionally, the locking device 180 can be a locking pin designed to hold the vehicle lid in a predetermined position, such as a closed position. For this purpose, the locking pin can lock the vehicle lid to the vehicle body.

[0031] The actuating unit 100 according to the invention is thus a compact unit in which both the actuator device 120 and the sensor device 130 are arranged in a common housing unit 110. This allows the already very limited installation space to be utilized. Furthermore, by providing a common electronics unit 140, the cabling effort of the actuating unit 100 can be reduced to a minimum.

[0032] The housing unit 110 is preferably constructed in two parts. A cover is provided, which is sealingly connected to another housing part.

Claims

[1] Actuating unit (100) for opening and closing a vehicle flap, in particular a loading flap for a vehicle, the actuating unit (100) comprising: - a housing unit (110), - an actuator device (120) arranged in the housing unit (110) for opening and closing the vehicle flap, and - a sensor device (130) arranged in the housing unit (110) for detecting a desire to open and close the vehicle door. [2] Actuating unit (100) according to claim 1, further comprising: - an electronics unit (140) arranged in the housing unit (110), which has electronic components for both the actuator device (120) and the sensor device (130). [3] Actuating unit (100) according to claim 2, wherein the electronic unit (140) comprises a printed circuit board. [4] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a light unit (160) for illuminating the vehicle flap. [5] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor device (130) is based on an inductive, capacitive, ultrasound-based, radar-based and / or force-based measuring principle for detecting the desire to open or close the vehicle door. [6] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a further sensor device (150) arranged in the housing unit (110) for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle. [7] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a locking device (180) arranged in the housing unit (110) for locking the vehicle flap. [8] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuator device (120) has an output shaft (124) extending from the interior of the housing unit (110) through the housing wall to the outside, wherein the output shaft (124) can be coupled to the vehicle flap. [9] Actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a coupling device (170) arranged on an outer side of the housing unit (110) and designed to interact with the sensor device (130). [10] Vehicle flap for a vehicle with an actuating unit (100) according to one of the preceding claims.

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