Automobile door drive device, particularly slide-type automobile door drive device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a door drive for a motor vehicle, in particular a sliding door drive for a motor vehicle, which has a door leaf (3) movable back and forth relative to a vehicle body (6). It also comprises a drive unit (4) and a holding device (5) for the door leaf (3) which interacts with the drive unit (4). Additionally, a distance sensor (16, 17) is assigned to the drive unit (4). According to the invention, the distance sensor (16, 17) is a combined distance-direction sensor (16, 17).

Description

Technical Field

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle door drive device having a door leaf movable back and forth with respect to a vehicle body, particularly to a sliding door drive device for a vehicle, and further includes a drive unit and a holding device for the door leaf, the holding device interacting with the drive unit, and a distance sensor being assigned to the drive unit.

[0002]

[0002] The drive unit generally has an electric motor, a downstream transmission, and a deflection roller for at least one flexible transmission means. The door leaf is connected to the transmission means and is thus movable back and forth. The door leaf movable with respect to the vehicle body can be locked or unlocked by the holding device.

[0003]

[0003] The vehicle door drive device is usually used to open and close the door of a vehicle. In principle, this vehicle door can be a hinged door or a hinged door of a vehicle. In the context of this application, a sliding door or a sliding door for a vehicle is mainly considered to ensure the closing or opening of a corresponding opening in the vehicle body of the vehicle by its door leaf.

[0004]

[0004] The related sliding door drive device for the door leaf of a sliding door for a vehicle is usually arranged between the C-pillar and the D-pillar of the vehicle body and acts on the door leaf in question via a flexible transmission means. This can generally be a Bowden cable or a toothed belt. For this purpose, the Bowden cable is wound around the deflection roller and unwound therefrom. For this purpose, the deflection roller may be designed as a take-up roller. The take-up roller or the deflection roller is then rotated with the aid of an electric motor or a downstream transmission as a component of the drive unit. In this way, the desired movement of the door leaf can be provided.

[0005] In the case of a motor vehicle door drive of the type described in DE 10 2014 101 036 B4, a lever mechanism for actuating the brake is realized as a holding device. Furthermore, the drive unit has an incremental encoder as a sensor that interacts with the associated motor shaft. The lever mechanism interacts with a spindle drive. By rotating the spindle clockwise or counterclockwise, a locking or unlocking operation can be realized via the lever mechanism.

[0006]

[0006] The exact position of the door leaf is essential for the exact operation of the door leaf by means of a part of the drive unit or the holding device. At this point, the incremental encoder realized in DE 10 2014 101 036 B4 provides an initial approach regarding the distance covered by the drive unit. However, neither absolute control values nor any directional information can be derived therefrom.

[0007]

[0007] A further prior art according to EP 1 676 972 B1 does not go further at this point. In fact, here an opening and closing system for a motor vehicle sliding door is described. In addition to a drive mechanism, a holding device with a brake element is realized. The holding device has a wedge-shaped holding rubber, which can be inserted into the intermediate space between a roller supporting the sliding door and the inner wall of a braking guide rail assigned to this roller. As a result, the position information of the door leaf becomes relatively inaccurate.

[0008]

[0008] The present invention is based on the technical problem of further developing such a motor vehicle door drive, in particular a motor vehicle sliding door drive, such that the position information for the door leaf is overall improved.

[0009] Summary

[0010]

[0009] To solve this technical problem, the present invention proposes that, in the case of a general automotive door drive device within the scope of the present invention, the distance sensor assigned to the drive unit is designed as a combined distance direction sensor according to the present invention. In other words, within the scope of the present invention, the distance sensor can be used to detect the distance covered by the drive unit corresponding to a specific travel distance of the door leaf. In addition, according to the present invention, the combined distance direction sensor can at least additionally detect the movement direction of the door leaf.

[0011]

[0010] Such information is important, for example, against the background that a related vehicle having a sliding door drive device according to the present invention is placed on a downhill or inclined slope. The holding device can hold the door leaf in a half-open position, for example, according to the alignment and orientation of the vehicle body. When the holding device releases the door leaf, the drive unit must be accurately controlled, for example, to ensure that the door leaf is closed. For this purpose, the control unit for the automotive door drive device not only evaluates the direction information of the combined distance direction sensor, but may also evaluate one or more position sensors of the vehicle body that provide information about the orientation of the vehicle body so that the vehicle is parked on a slope in the forward or reverse direction of the slope.

[0012]

[0011] In any case, the design of the distance sensor as a combined distance direction sensor provides comprehensive information regarding the control unit that controls the drive unit and the holding device in order to avoid malfunction and provide the user with accurate and requirement-based control of the door leaf. Here lies an essential advantage.

[0013]

[0012] In a preferred variant, the distance and direction sensor operates in a non-contact manner. Inductive distance and direction detection has proven to be particularly advantageous. However, in principle, the distance and direction sensor can also operate optically. Also, the distance and direction sensor can be designed quite generally as a position sensor that detects the absolute position and transmits it to the control unit. In this case, not only is the relative distance covered and the direction of the distance detected, but rather the control of each movement of the drive unit and thus of the door leaf corresponds to the fact that the drive unit, and thus the vehicle body of the door leaf, has a specially coded position that is known and available for this purpose. However, generally, relying on the distance and direction sensor at this point is sufficient.

[0014]

[0013] The distance and direction sensor is generally designed as two components with at least one actuator element and one sensor element. In this case, the actuator element is usually connected to the output shaft of an electric motor which is a component of the drive unit. In contrast, the sensor element is designed not to move. In principle, this can also be reversed. In this case, the sensor element is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor and the actuator element is aligned and positioned so as not to move.

[0015]

[0014] A variant in which the actuator element is arranged within or on the retaining ring of the retaining device is particularly preferred. This retaining ring generally interacts with a retaining rubber that can be added or removed from the retaining ring and is placed at the end of a retaining lever as a component of the retaining device. As a result, the actuator element is directly integrated into the component of the drive unit required in any case and no further structural adaptation is required.

[0016]

[0015] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the actuator element and the retaining ring are integrally designed. This is achieved in that the retaining ring forms a magnet component. In this particularly preferred embodiment, the retaining ring is designed as a magnet component based on a plastic material and consists of a plastic material and magnetic particles, preferably ferrite particles. The retaining ring is produced by an injection molding process, where the magnetic particles are magnetized during or after the injection molding process. Due to the integral design of the actuator element and the retaining ring, the retaining ring simultaneously performs two functions: the positioning determination and the retaining function of the automotive door.

[0017]

[0016] In fact, the retaining ring can be rotatably fixed to the output shaft of the electric motor and is particularly advantageously coupled in a positive locking manner in most cases. For this purpose, the output shaft generally has a flat portion, or the retaining ring and the output shaft together define a circle, while the recess for the output shaft and the output shaft each have a semi-circular cross-section in each case. Thereby, a desired positively locked connection that is rotatably fixed between the retaining ring and the output shaft is automatically provided. Next, simply push the retaining ring onto the output shaft.

[0018]

[0017] Assuming that the retaining ring is made of a plastic material, the magnetic field of the actuator element can be easily picked up and registered by a stationary sensor element. In fact, two sensor elements are generally provided to determine the distance and direction of the actuator element. The two sensor elements can be arranged on a circuit board, which is a printed circuit board further provided with a protective cover as a seal to protect the two sensor elements from the influence of the environment.

[0019]

[0018] The two sensor elements can be used not only for generally performing distance measurement on the output shaft of a drive unit that carries an electric motor or a retaining ring. This is because, during each rotation of the output shaft, a signal is generated in the associated sensor element as the actuator element passes through. Also, by using the two sensor elements, it is possible to determine the rotational direction of the output shaft using a control unit that evaluates the signals of the distance direction sensor. For this purpose, the two sensor elements are arranged in a common plane defined by the aforementioned printed circuit board. This plane is oriented substantially tangentially to the output shaft that supports the retaining ring.

[0020]

[0019] As a result, the rotational movement of the retaining ring, and thus the rotational movement of the output shaft, for example, a clockwise rotational movement, leads to the right sensor or the right sensor element in the cross-section that picks up the increasing signal, while the left sensor element registers a decreasing signal of the magnetic field strength. However, in the case of a counterclockwise movement, the right sensor element senses a decreasing signal intensity, while the signal intensity at the left sensor element increases. The number of increasing or decreasing signals during a full rotation of the output shaft depends on the number of poles of the actuator element. For example, if the actuator element has three poles, a total of six signals are detected by the sensor elements. In the case of a two-pole actuator element, four signals are detected. In any case, it becomes clear that the direction of the output shaft carrying the retaining ring can be estimated based on these time sequences of the signal sequences observed on the two sensor elements and their evaluation in the control unit. For the reasons described above, this is particularly important because it enables the drive unit to move the door leaf that can be moved precisely and back and forth as required. Here lies an essential advantage.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021]

[0020] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings showing only one exemplary embodiment.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

[0022]

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view and a simplified view of an automotive door drive device or a sliding door drive device for an automobile. For this purpose, an assembly unit 1, which will be described in more detail below, is provided, which is a combination of a drive unit 4 and a holding device 5, which will be described in more detail below, but is not limited thereto. In this way, the door leaf 3 that can move back and forth can be moved in the longitudinal direction and back and forth with respect to the vehicle body 6 of the automobile. This is indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 1. For this purpose, the drive unit 4 acts on the door leaf 3 via a flexible transmission means 2. In particular, for this purpose, the drive unit 4 applies tension to the flexible transmission means 2 according to the illustration in FIG. 1, as indicated by the additional arrow in FIG. 1. In principle, two transmission means 2 can also be implemented at this point, but this is not shown in detail in FIG. 1.

[0023]

[0022] FIG. 2 shows the detailed configuration of the above-described assembly unit 1. The drive unit 4 and the holding device 5 are assembled and fixed to the vehicle body 6. This can be done, as an example and in a non-limiting manner, in the region of the C-pillar or D-pillar inside the vehicle body 6. However, this is not shown in detail.

[0024] As can be seen from FIG. 2, the drive unit 4 has an electric motor 7 and transmission devices 8, 9 following downstream of the electric motor 7. Using the transmission devices 8, 9, the deflection roller or the take-up roller 10 can be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise, whereby the flexible transmission means 2 received by the deflection roller or the take-up roller 10 is wound up and rewound. Since the door leaf 3 is connected to the flexible transmission means 2, it moves back and forth in this way.

[0025] From the exemplary embodiment, it can be seen that two cables 2 are received as flexible transmission means with the aid of the take-up roller 10. For example, when the electric motor 7 moves the deflection roller or the take-up roller 10 in the clockwise direction, the left cable 2 is wound up and the right cable 2 is rewound. When the deflection roller or the take-up roller 10 moves counterclockwise, the reverse process is performed. Since both ends of the cable 2 are connected to the door leaf 3, the door leaf 3 can thus move back and forth in the direction indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 1, in particular relative to the vehicle body 6.

[0026] The take-up roller or the deflection roller 10 is driven with the aid of the electric motor 7 such that the electric motor 7 has an output shaft carrying an output worm 8. The output worm 8 on the output shaft meshes with an external tooth form 9 on the take-up roller or the deflection roller 10. The transmission devices 8, 9 are realized in this way.

[0027]

[0026] The basic structure also includes the aforementioned holding device 5 for the door leaf 3, and the holding device interacts with the drive device 4. The holding device 5 is composed of its own electric drive device 11 and a holding lever 12 actuated by the drive device 11. With the aid of the holding lever 12, the door leaf 3 can be fixed and blocked at a desired position relative to the vehicle body 6. For this purpose, the holding lever 12 can be engaged with the output shaft of the electric motor 7, and the output shaft can be blocked by the drive device 11 of the holding lever 12. For this purpose, the holding lever 12 has the shape of a two-legged member. One leg of the holding lever 12 is provided to interact with the drive device 11, and another leg is provided to interact with the output shaft of the electric motor 7. Here, the interaction between the holding device 5 and the drive unit 4 is carried out such that a holding ring 13 interacting with the holding lever 12 is provided on the end side of the output shaft of the electric motor 7 of the drive unit 4 carrying the output worm 8.

[0028]

[0027] In fact, the holding lever 12 has a holding rubber 14 at its end. This holding rubber is optionally set on the holding ring 13 at the end of the output shaft of the electric motor 7 and then removed therefrom according to how the electric motor 11 acts on the holding lever 12. For this purpose, the holding ring 13 according to this embodiment is designed as a knurled wheel or has a corrugated surface to provide a particularly effective non-tangential connection between the holding ring 13 and the holding rubber 14 at the end of the holding lever 12. In addition, one leg of the holding lever 12 is provided with a toothed shape 15 meshing with the worm on the output shaft of the electric motor 11, enabling the L-shaped holding lever 12 to perform the necessary pivoting movement so that the holding rubber 14 can move relative to the holding ring 13 to fix or release the holding ring 13.

[0029] In addition to the retaining device 5 for the door leaf 3 in which the retaining device interacts with the drive unit 4, the basic structure of the present invention also includes distance sensors 16, 17 assigned to the drive unit 4. According to the present embodiment and the present invention, the distance sensors 16, 17 are a combination of distance direction sensors 16, 17, and can detect the distance covered by the output shaft of the electric motor 7 and transmit it to the control unit 18 for display, and can determine the direction of the output shaft of the electric motor 7 with the help of the control unit 18.

[0030]

[0029] According to this embodiment, the distance sensors 16, 17 operate non - contact, specifically inductively. In fact, the distance sensors 16, 17 are designed as two components having at least one actuator element 16 and one sensor element 17. According to an exemplary embodiment, a rotary actuator element 16 is realized, while two fixed sensor elements 17 are provided, which are arranged together on the printed circuit board 19 as can be seen in FIG. 2. The actuator element 16 is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 7. For this reason, in this embodiment, the actuator element 16 is integrally formed with the holding ring 13. In this preferred embodiment, the holding ring 13 is a magnetic component based on a plastic material and consists of a plastic material in which magnetic particles, preferably ferrite particles, are embedded. In this embodiment, the holding ring 13 is produced by an injection - molding process, and the magnetic particles are magnetized during or after this injection - molding process. Preferably, the holding ring is designed as a three - pole magnet. Of course, other embodiments of the holding ring 13 with the actuator element 16 are also possible. For example, the actuator element 16 (in this case a permanent magnet) can be embedded inside the holding ring 13 made of a plastic material. The holding ring 13 is mounted in a positively - locked state rotatably fixed to the output shaft of the electric motor 7. For this reason, the cross - sectional shape of the output shaft of the electric motor 7 can be made D - shaped. Similarly, the recess of the holding ring 13 can be designed to receive the output shaft of the electric motor 7 inside it and provide a desired positively - locked plug connection rotatably fixed between the output shaft and the holding ring 13.

[0031]

[0030] In the enlargement of FIG. 3, the operating modes of the two sensor elements 17 are shown for the combined distance and direction determination of the actuator element 16. In this case, the two sensor elements 17 are arranged relative to each other on the circuit board 19. The circuit board 19 is mainly oriented in the tangential direction compared to the holding ring 13 having the actuator element 16. In the figure, the left - hand sensor element 17 is denoted by 17.1 and the right - hand sensor element 17 is denoted by 17.2.

[0032]

[0031] When the holding ring 13 moves clockwise, and as a result, the output shaft of the electric motor 7 also moves clockwise, as schematically shown in the figure, it can be seen that the signal of the left sensor element 17.1 decreases and the signal of the right sensor element 17.2 increases. For this purpose, the control unit 18 evaluates both signals or the combined signal of the intensity S shown in FIG. 3 with respect to the angle φ of the rotational movement of the holding ring 13. In contrast, the counterclockwise movement of the holding ring 13 corresponds to the signal sequence shown in the reverse direction. In either case, the signal sequences of the two actuator elements 17 or 17.1 and 17.2 can be evaluated with the help of the control unit 18. Thereby, the control unit 18 can estimate the direction of the output shaft of the electric motor 7, and in this embodiment, it can estimate the clockwise rotational movement of the output shaft of the electric motor 7. For the sake of simplicity, the schematic diagram shows the signal curve of the unipolar actuator element 16.

[0033] Description of References

[0034] 1…Assembly unit, 2…Transmission means, cable, 3…Door leaf, 4…Drive unit, 5…Holding device, 6…Vehicle body, 7…Electric motor, 8…Output worm, 9…Tooth profile, 10…Deflection rotor or take-up roller, 11…Drive device, 12…Holding lever, 13…Holding ring, 14…Holding rubber, 15…Tooth profile, 16…Actuator element, 17…Sensor element, 17.1…Left sensor element, 17.2…Right sensor element, 18…Control unit, 19…PCB.

Claims

1. A door drive device for an automobile, comprising: a door leaf (3) that can be moved back and forth relative to a vehicle body (6) by an electric motor (7), a drive unit (4) for the door leaf (3) having the electric motor (7), and a holding device (5) for the door leaf (3), and a distance sensor (16, 17) that is assigned to the drive unit (4) and detects a distance covered by an output shaft of the electric motor (7), wherein the holding device (5) is composed of a drive device (11) for the holding device (5) and a holding lever (12) actuated by the drive device (11), and by engaging the holding lever (12) with the output shaft, the output shaft is blocked, The distance sensor (16, 17) is a distance direction sensor (16, 17) having at least one actuator element (16) and a sensor element (17), and detecting a distance covered by the output shaft and a rotation direction, characterized in that it is a drive device.

2. The drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that the distance direction sensor (16, 17) operates non-contact.

3. The drive device according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance direction sensor (16, 17) functions optically.

4. The drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the distance direction sensor (16, 17) is formed in two parts of at least one actuator element (16) and a sensor element (17).

5. The drive device according to claim 4, characterized in that the actuator element (16) is connected to an output shaft of an electric motor (7) of the drive unit (4).

6. The holding device (5) has a holding ring (13) placed at an end of the holding lever (12) for holding the output shaft, and the actuator element (16) is arranged inside or on the holding ring (13). The drive device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that it is as described above.

7. The drive device according to claim 6, characterized in that the actuator element (16) and the holding ring (13) are integrally designed.

8. The drive device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the holding ring (13) is made of a plastic material.

9. The drive device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the holding ring (13) is mounted on the output shaft of the electric motor (7) and is fixedly rotatable.

10. The drive device according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that two sensor elements (17; 17.1, 17.2) are provided for determining the distance and direction of the actuator element (16).

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