Brake plate with electronic control

Description

1. SCOPE OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrically cable-linked brake control device for the braking system of a motor vehicle. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] Manufacturers are increasingly turning to wired control functions that were traditionally handled by mechanical links such as articulated pedals. However, electric controls allow for a significant reduction in component size, freeing up more space for other vehicle elements.

[0003] We already know of different concepts for skates or pedals. Some use force as the sole means of control without mechanical movement, and others use force with movement to ensure better control and allow the use of position sensors in addition to force sensors to improve reliability.

[0004] Some principles are based on articulated, kinematic pedals, while others rely on linear movement relative to a guide plane. Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages. Pedal-type devices are necessarily bulky but offer greater comfort for the driver. "Linear" push-type devices are more compact but have the drawback of relying on friction resulting from the offset of the input thrust applied by the driver.

[0005] The following documents US 2006 / 053957 A1, US 11 560 127 B2, CN 202 463 793 U and US 5 934 152 A may be cited as prior art. PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention aims to develop a wire-based braking control device for a vehicle, without a mechanical link between the control device consisting of a pad operated by the driver and the vehicle's braking system, reducing bulk and complexity and improving driver comfort, including pedal feel and perceived braking effect, as well as control capabilities and flexibility. DESCRIPTION AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0007] To this end, the invention relates to a braking control device for a motor vehicle comprising: a base, flat with bearings for an axle, a pad mounted on the axle above the base, to receive the push from the driver's foot, a torsion spring whose body is freely fitted onto the axle and one arm of which is connected to the pad to follow the pivoting movement on the axle, the other arm, active, resting by its end on the top of the base, a flexible pad held by the top of the base under the bearing end of the active arm, a force sensor under the pad receiving the push from the active arm via the pad, and a processing circuit receiving the signal from the sensor to process it and provide the processed signal to the central unit generating the control signal applied to the braking system.

[0008] The device according to the invention has the advantage of limiting the movement of the pad by the spindle rotating around its axis. This avoids the effects of friction related to the offset of the thrust applied to the pad, thanks to the lever arm between the point of thrust application on the pad and its axis of rotation. The movement is smooth, without any slippage effect, unlike a linear push-button type movement. Indeed, linear guidance, being sensitive to environmental contamination, requires appropriate protection in the form of a compressible element or a means of accommodating the stroke. Articulated mechanisms, being less sensitive, require less protection, which facilitates the isolation and protection of the electronic components in the lower part of the chassis. Furthermore, linear compression systems have a compression spring to meet the required characteristics.Such springs require a significant vertical space to provide the necessary thrust and ensure reliability. However, the combination, according to the invention, of compression springs with an angular displacement of the pad facilitates the integration of the spring function into a more compact, or even very compact, design.

[0009] According to another feature, the device includes a rotation sensor combined with the skate to detect the pivoting movement of the skate relative to the base and provide a signal transmitted to the processing circuit.

[0010] According to another feature, the control device includes a split torsion spring, associated by its respective active branch with a respective flexible plate for each of the force sensors, to provide two detection signals to the processing circuit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to embodiments of a braking control device for a motor vehicle according to the invention, as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: [ Fig. 1 ] side view of an example of a control device, [ Fig. 2 Schematic top view of the device figure 1 , [ Fig. 3 ] Cross-sectional view of a variant of the control device, [ Fig. 4 ] Top view of the device figure 3 , [ Fig. 5 ] cross-sectional view of another embodiment, [ Fig. 6 ] Top view of the implementation method of the figure 5 . 1. DESCRIPTION OF METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION

[0012] According to the figure 1 The invention relates to a braking control device 100 for a motor vehicle. The device 100 consists of a flat, thin base 1, which is placed on the floor of the passenger compartment at the usual position of a brake pedal or at a position more suitable for this new type of brake pedal. The device 100 is actuated in the usual way by a push F from the driver's foot.

[0013] The flat-shaped base 1 has a top 11, for example, a cover supporting, via a bearing 12, the shaft 21 of a pad 2 that receives the thrust (F) from the driver's foot. In this example, the bearing 12 is split at both ends of the shaft 21.

[0014] The skate 2 is combined with a two-arm torsion spring 3 31, 32, the body of which 33 is fitted onto the shaft 21. One arm 31 is fixed to the skate 2 and the other arm 32, active, rests by its end 321 on a flexible plate-shaped element 41 integrated into the top 11 of the base 1 to receive the end 321 when the skate 2 is subjected to a thrust F.

[0015] The plate 41 is connected directly or via a rigid push button 42 to a flat force sensor 4, installed in the base 1, on the plate of a printed circuit board forming the processing circuit 5. The circuit 5 receives the signal S1 from the sensor 4. The active arm 32, shorter than the pad 2 incorporating the arm 31 (or attached to it), allows the pad 2 to have dimensions similar to those of a brake pedal, for reasons of comfort and safety of use; the active arm 32, shorter than the arm 31, is less bulky on the top of the cover 11. The plate 41 constitutes the receiving surface for the thrust exerted by the end 321 of the active arm 32.The thrust exerted on the contact area of ​​end 321 with plate 41 can be considered as a thrust perpendicular to the top 11, transmitted by the pusher 42; this is merely a very low-profile intermediate element located on the inner side of cover 11 and in contact with the top of sensor 4. Sensor 4 itself rests against the bottom 11a in the base 1 through the circuit board 5 without exerting any stress on the circuit board 5. Plate 41 makes the transmission of the thrust independent of the size of sensor 4.

[0016] Starting from the signal S1 received from the force sensor 4, the circuit 5 forms the processed signal ST supplied to the central management unit 6 generating the control signal SC of the braking system (not shown) acting on the wheel brakes and the transmission (dynamic braking).

[0017] The sensitive electronic components of the processing circuit 5, for example, the printed circuit board, are protected by the lid-shaped top 11 which provides sealing and integrates the wafer 41. The electronic components do not require dynamic movement for the thrust detection by the force sensor 4. According to one embodiment, the cover 11 is a simple elastomer membrane or a rigid plate with a flexible wafer 41 locally, integrated in a sealed manner so as not to influence the transmission of the thrust to the sensor 4.

[0018] The top view ( figure 2 Figure 100 shows a variant of the device comprising the torsion spring 3 and its two arms 31, 32, as well as the flexible plate 41 for transmitting the thrust F to the force sensor 4, but which, in addition to the force sensor 4, includes a rotation sensor 7 to detect the position of the pad 2. This detection is contactless, achieved by a magnet 71 fixed to the shaft 21 and cooperating with a magneto-sensitive detection element 72, which is fixed and provides a signal S2. The shaft 21 is rotationally fixed to the pad 2.

[0019] The processing circuit 5 receives signals S1 and S2 to form the processed signals ST1 and ST2, which are then transmitted to the central unit 6. The rotation sensor 7 is, to some extent, redundant with the force sensor 4 to verify the consistency of the sensor's signal S1. This verification, and its consequences, for example, in the event of a sensor 4 failure, allows the control unit 6 to command the braking system.

[0020] Depending on the degree of development of the processing circuit 5, the signals S1, S2 are combined according to data combination rules so that the processing circuit 5 provides a single output signal ST sent to the control unit 6.

[0021] THE figures 3 et 4 show another embodiment 300 corresponding to that of the figure 2 The system is complemented by a stroke sensor 8 cooperating with a rod 81 attached to the pad 2, as shown schematically. The signal S3 from the stroke sensor 8 is used in parallel with the signal S1 from the force sensor 4 to confirm the validity of this signal. This comparison also allows for the detection of any malfunctions.

[0022] Depending on the braking management mode, a single processed signal ST is transmitted by the processing circuit 5 receiving the two signals S1, S2 and taking them into account according to the rules of their management and consideration or transmission separately after processing to the control unit 6.

[0023] THE figures 5 et 6 show a cross-sectional view and a top view of a device 400 duplicating the torsion spring and the force sensor of the first embodiment 100.

[0024] The split torsion spring, associated with the single shaft 21, is formed of two springs 3a,b to actuate two force sensors 4a,b via the two active arms 32a,b bearing on two pads 41a,b; each transmits the thrust F to a sensor 4a,b located under a respective, separate pad 41a,b; each sensor 4a,b provides a signal S1, S1' to the processing circuit 5, which provides the processed signal ST to the central unit 6, generating the control signal SC for the braking system. The signals S1, S'1 from the sensors can also be processed and provided separately to the central unit 6, which interprets them to generate the control signal SC.

[0025] The splitting 4a,b of the sensor allows the use of smaller sensors since they will each only have to process half of the thrust on the pad 2. This pair of sensors 4a,b can be combined with a rotation sensor 7 to detect the pivoting movement of the pad 2 by that of the axis 21 to which the pad 2 is attached and provide a control signal.

[0026] In general, the four single or double force sensors can be combined with a rotation sensor 7 or a stroke sensor 8, or a combination thereof, depending on the desired level of redundancy. The signals S1, S1', S2, and S3 are processed by circuit 15, which provides the processed signals to the central processing unit 6. NOMENCLATURE OF MAIN ELEMENTS

[0027] 100 Control device 200 Control device 300 Control device 400 Control device 1 Base 11 Top / cover 12 Bearing 13 Bottom 2 Pad 21 Pad-carrying axle 22 Bottom 23 Top 3 Spring 31 Arm connected to pad 32 Active arm 321 End 33 Torsion spring body 4 Force sensors 41 Flexible pad 42 Pushrod 5 Processing circuit 6 Central unit 7 Rotation sensor 71 Magnet 72 Fixed magneto-sensitive element 8 Stroke sensor 81 Pushrod connected to pad 2 82 Flexible pad integrated into the base F Push exerted by the driver's foot S1 Force sensor signal S1' Force sensor signal S2 Rotation sensor signal S3 Stroke sensor signal ST Processed signal SC Braking system control signal

Claims

1. Motor vehicle braking control device comprising: - a base (1), which is flat and has bearings for a pin (21), - a pad (2) mounted on the pin (21) above the base (1), for receiving the pushing force (F) from the driver's foot, - a torsion spring (3), the body (33) of which is fitted freely on the pin (21) and of which * one arm (31) is connected to the pad (2) so as to follow the pivoting movement about the pin, * the other arm (32), which is active, bearing by way of its end (321) against the top of the base (1), characterized in that this braking control device also comprises: - a flexible plate (41) held by the top (11) of the base (1) beneath the bearing end (321) of the active arm (32), - a force sensor (4) beneath the plate (41) receiving the pushing force from the active arm (32) via the plate (41), and - a processing circuit (5) receiving the signal (S1) from the sensor (4) in order to process it and supply the processed signal (ST) to the central unit (6) generating the control signal (SC) applied to the braking system.

2. Control device according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: - a rotation sensor (7) combined with the pad (2) for detecting the pivoting movement of the pad (2) with respect to the base and supplying a signal (S2) that is transmitted to the processing circuit.

3. Control device according to Claim 2, characterized by a double torsion spring (3a, 3b), which is associated by way of its respective active arm (32a, b) with a respective flexible plate (41a, b) for each of the force sensors (4a, b), for supplying two detection signals (S1, S1') to the processing circuit (5).