Control assembly for operating a motor vehicle locking system

Abstract

The invention relates to a control assembly for operating a motor vehicle locking system (2), wherein the motor vehicle locking system (2) has a drive (3) with an electric drive motor (4), wherein the control assembly (1) actuates the drive (3) in response to an operator event in order to provide a motorized locking function for an adjustable closing element (5) of the motor vehicle (6), wherein the control assembly (1) has an electric, chargeable energy store (7) with at least one capacitor (8), wherein, in emergency operation, in particular in the event of a failure of a normal supply voltage, the energy store (7) provides an electric emergency supply voltage. It is proposed that a charging / discharging circuit (9) is provided which is configured, via a switching element arrangement (10) operated in pulsed mode, to charge the capacitor (8) in a charging routine via an inductance (11) on the basis of the normal supply voltage and to discharge the capacitor (8) in a discharging routine via the same inductance (11).

Description

[0001] Control arrangement for operating a motor vehicle locking system

[0002] The present invention relates to a control arrangement for operating a motor vehicle locking system according to the preamble of claim 1, a motor vehicle locking system according to claim 10 and a method for operating a motor vehicle locking system according to the preamble of claim 12.

[0003] The motor vehicle locking system in question is used for all types of motorized locking functions for locking elements of a motor vehicle. This includes, in particular, locking elements such as side doors, rear doors, tailgates, trunk lids, hoods, and the like. These locking elements can generally be designed as swing or sliding doors. The motorized locking function particularly relates to a motor vehicle lock associated with the motor vehicle locking system.

[0004] This includes the operation of a motor vehicle locking system with a motor vehicle lock that has a lock latch and a pawl as locking elements. The lock latch can be moved into a closed position, in which it engages with the locking part and is held in place by the pawl. The motor vehicle lock is also equipped with an electric drive that can lift the pawl, allowing the lock latch to be adjusted to its open position, releasing the locking part.

[0005] In order to meet the requirements for the safety of the power supply of such motor vehicle locks, a rechargeable energy storage device can be provided, whereby the electrical power supply of the motor vehicle locking system is ensured via an emergency supply voltage even in emergency operation, in particular in the event of a failure of the normal supply voltage.

[0006] The known prior art (DE 11 2013 006 192 T5), from which the invention is based, further relates to the use of an energy storage device equipped with capacitors. To ensure the operating state, the capacitors are charged in a charging routine via a pulsed charging voltage with pulse width modulation (PWM). The charging routine is used to monitor the equivalent series resistance (ESR) and / or the capacitance of the capacitors.

[0007] It is a challenge that charging the capacitor via a pulsed charging voltage does not meet all the practical requirements of the vehicle locking system.

[0008] The invention is based on the problem of designing and developing a generic control arrangement in such a way that a further optimization for setting and monitoring the state of the energy storage device is achieved.

[0009] The above problem is solved by the features of claim 1.

[0010] The fundamental idea is to implement both charging and discharging of the energy storage device, specifically the capacitor, using a circuit that is as simple as possible. An inductor, preferably designed as a single component, is used to enable both a flexibly adjustable charging current and a discharging current.

[0011] In particular, it is proposed that a charging / discharging circuit is provided which is configured to charge the capacitor in a charging routine via an inductance on the basis of the normal supply voltage via a pulsed switching element arrangement and to discharge the capacitor in a discharging routine via the same inductance.

[0012] By using the inductance, higher overall current values ​​can flow compared to pulsed charging via additional resistors, as this results in less heat generation, thus significantly shortening the capacitor's charging time. Furthermore, unlike a conventional buck converter, the charging / discharging circuit enables effective discharging of the capacitor. The low heat generation generated during operation of the charging / discharging circuit also ensures improved determination of capacitor characteristics, which may be temperature-dependent. Particularly preferred is a current control for charging and / or discharging according to claim 2, which is easily implemented through the proposed use of the inductance.

[0013] The current regulation can be effected via cascaded regulators, which is the subject of claim 3. Preferred variants of the target charge / discharge current, which are effected in particular via such cascaded regulators, are specified in claim 4.

[0014] In the particularly simple embodiment according to claim 5, a half-bridge is used, the respective switching elements of which are used for charging or discharging via the inductance and in particular implement the current control mentioned.

[0015] The embodiment according to claim 6 is also particularly preferred, wherein various operating modes of the motor vehicle are provided, whose different target capacitor charge states are achieved via the proposed charging and discharging routine. Preferably, at least partial discharging of the capacitor is provided for a parking mode, thereby optimizing the service life of the capacitor.

[0016] Further optimization of the capacitor's use is achieved in the embodiment according to claim 7 by making the desired capacitor charge state temperature dependent. In particular, when the temperature increases, the proposed solution allows for targeted discharge of the capacitor.

[0017] Claim 9 concerns the determination of the capacitor's charging / discharging current. By determining this at an average time between two pulses of the switching element arrangement, reliable monitoring of an average current value can be achieved, which is used, for example, in current control.

[0018] According to a further teaching according to claim 10, which has independent significance, a motor vehicle locking system is claimed comprising a drive with an electric drive motor for providing a motorized locking function for an adjustable locking element of a motor vehicle and a control arrangement according to the proposed method. Reference is made to all statements regarding the proposed control arrangement.

[0019] In the preferred embodiment according to claim 11, a motor vehicle lock is further provided for the locking element of the motor vehicle, wherein the electric drive is provided for the motorized lifting of the locking pawl of the motor vehicle lock. The proposed solution can take into account the special security requirements of motor vehicle locksmiths.

[0020] According to a further teaching according to claim 12, which also has independent significance, a method for operating a motor vehicle locking system is claimed. It is essential that, by means of a charge / discharge circuit of the control arrangement via a pulsed switching element arrangement, the capacitor is charged in a charging routine via an inductance based on the standard supply voltage, and the capacitor is discharged in a discharging routine via the same inductance. Reference is made to all statements regarding the proposed control arrangement and the proposed motor vehicle locking system.

[0021] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing which merely illustrates exemplary embodiments. In the drawing,

[0022] Fig. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of a motor vehicle with a proposed motor vehicle locking system and a motor vehicle lock with a proposed control arrangement in a partially disassembled side view and

[0023] Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the charging / discharging circuit of the proposed control arrangement.

[0024] The invention relates to a control arrangement 1 for the operation of a motor vehicle locking system 2. The motor vehicle locking system 2 has a drive 3 with an electric drive motor 4, wherein in normal operation the drive 3 is fed in particular by a normal supply voltage in order to provide a motorized closing function for an adjustable locking element 5 of the motor vehicle 6 in response to an operating event.

[0025] The term "drive motor" herein encompasses all types of electric actuators, in particular rotary and linear actuators. The drive motor 4 is preferably a rotary electric motor, which is further preferably configured as a brushed DC motor or a brushless DC motor. The standard supply voltage used during normal operation is a supply voltage of the on-board electrical system of the motor vehicle 6, which is preferably provided by the central battery of the motor vehicle 6. The central battery is preferably the battery that provides the electrical energy required for starting the motor vehicle 6 and / or for driving the motor vehicle 6.

[0026] A motorized closing function is understood to mean that the adjustable locking element 5 of the motor vehicle 6 is released, adjusted, opened or closed, and / or locked or unlocked, directly or indirectly, by a movement generated by the electric drive 3. Regarding the design of the locking element 5, reference is made to the introductory explanations, whereby Fig. 1 illustrates the functioning of the motor vehicle locking system 2 for a locking element 5 designed as a tailgate. However, all explanations also apply to all other types of locking elements 5 of the motor vehicle 6.

[0027] The control arrangement 1 preferably comprises control electronics for implementing the control tasks associated with the motorized locking function. In particular, the control arrangement 1 is configured to control the electric drive 3. The control arrangement 1 monitors, for example, using a microcontroller, the presence of the operating event, which is transmitted, for example, as an operating signal from an actuating element such as a door handle. The control arrangement 1 can also be used to manage electrical locking states (such as unlocked, locked, anti-theft, child-proof, etc.), depending on which the motorized locking function is executed or suppressed. As can be seen from Fig. 2a), the control arrangement 1 comprises an electrical, rechargeable energy storage device 7 with at least one capacitor 8.In emergency operation, particularly in the event of a failure of the normal supply voltage, a crash, or the like, the energy storage device 7 provides an emergency electrical supply voltage for the electric drive 3. The emergency supply voltage is provided here and preferably based on the capacitor voltage of the at least one capacitor 8. The energy storage device 7 preferably has a booster stage (not shown in Fig. 2) connected downstream of the at least one capacitor 8. The booster stage is configured to boost the capacitor voltage of the at least one capacitor 8 to the emergency supply voltage.

[0028] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the energy storage device 7 has a single capacitor 8, in particular a single double-layer capacitor. A double-layer capacitor is an electrochemical energy storage device 7. Energy is stored in an electrochemical double layer, also known as a "Helmholtz layer." Such a double-layer capacitor is also referred to as a "supercapacitor," "supercap," "ultracap," or the like. A double-layer capacitor can provide a high power density for the motor vehicle locking system 2.

[0029] It is also conceivable that several (double-layer) capacitors connected electrically in series and / or parallel are provided. Where the use and properties of capacitor 8 are discussed below, for example, the capacitor voltage, the properties of several capacitors are also included in such a case. The capacitor voltage can therefore also refer to the total voltage of several capacitors connected in series, an average capacitor voltage of several capacitors, or the like. The charging and discharging described below can accordingly be carried out for several capacitors together or individually.

[0030] It is essential that a charging / discharging circuit 9 is provided which is designed to charge the capacitor 8 in a charging routine via an inductance 11 on the basis of the normal supply voltage via a pulsed switching element arrangement 10 and to discharge the capacitor 8 in a discharging routine via the same inductance 11.

[0031] The switching element arrangement 10 is configured to pulse a voltage based on the standard supply voltage, here and preferably the battery voltage 11bat of the central battery, to the capacitor 8 via the inductor 11. The switching element arrangement 10 is further configured to convert a pulsed connection of the capacitor 8 via the inductor 11 to a reference potential, here ground, which can cause the capacitor 8 to be discharged. The pulsed connection preferably occurs cyclically and in particular via pulse width modulation, which is implemented here and preferably via a charge / discharge driver 12.

[0032] The inductance 11 is an electrical component such as one or more coils, which, as its main electrical property, specifically provides an inductive property for influencing the charging / discharging current. In this respect, the inductance 11 mentioned here is in particular not the self-inductance of other components or the circuit itself. The inductance 11 is preferably embodied as a component. The inductance 11 is preferably designed such that, based on the pulsed switching via the switching element arrangement 10, it is avoided that the charging / discharging current drops to zero between two successive pulses or increases excessively with the start of the pulse. Further preferably, the inductance 11 is designed such that temporal variations in the charging / discharging current are smaller than the magnitude of the charging / discharging current.

[0033] The charging / discharging current can be understood as a measure of the electrical current flowing from the inductor 11 to the capacitor 8 (charging) or the electrical current flowing from the capacitor 8 to the inductor 11 (discharging). Fig. 2a schematically shows a current measurement 13, which allows a direct determination of the actual charging / discharging current. However, as explained below, the actual charging / discharging current can also be determined (indirectly) in other ways.

[0034] It is particularly preferred that the charging / discharging circuit 9 is configured to charge or discharge the energy storage device 7 in the charging routine and / or discharging routine via a current control 14 for the charging / discharging current of the capacitor 8.

[0035] In a simple embodiment, the current control 14 has a controller which regulates the actual charging / discharging current to a predetermined target charging / discharging current and can output parameters such as a PWM sampling rate for controlling the switching element arrangement 10 as a manipulated variable, for example via an actuator.

[0036] However, it is further preferred that the current control 14 be configured in a cascaded manner. As further shown in Fig. 2b), the current control 14 can comprise a current regulator 15 for regulating to a desired charging / discharging current (Isoll) and a pulse regulator 16 for regulating to a desired charging / discharging voltage (Ucmd) output by the current regulator 15, wherein the pulse regulator 16 controls the switching element arrangement 10.

[0037] The pulse regulator 16 generates, for example, parameters such as a PWM sampling rate or the like for controlling the switching element arrangement 10 on the basis of the target charge / discharge voltage output by means of the current regulator 15 and the normal supply voltage, here the battery voltage 11bat, whereby variations in the normal supply voltage can also be taken into account.

[0038] Further preferably, the current control 14 comprises a voltage regulator 17, which determines the desired charging / discharging current based on the actual capacitor voltage and a desired capacitor voltage. The capacitor voltage is preferably determined directly across the capacitor 8, which is shown in Fig. 2 as a voltage measurement 18. The voltage regulator 17 preferably contains a current limiter 19, which limits the charging / discharging current output by a control element of the voltage regulator 17 to a maximum, for example, fixed current value. An impermissibly high charging / discharging current can thus be avoided via the voltage regulator 17. The voltage regulator 17 can be used, in particular, to reliably carry out a start-up phase of the charging routine, particularly when the capacitor 8 is largely discharged, and / or charging when approaching the desired capacitor voltage.It is preferably provided that the current control 14 in the charging routine and / or discharging routine regulates the charging / discharging current to a predetermined, constant target charging / discharging current or to a predetermined target charging / discharging current curve.

[0039] The specified, constant target charge / discharge current can be a fixed value or the result of using the voltage regulator 17 described above. With a specified target charge / discharge current curve, however, the charge / discharge current can be varied over time in the charge routine and / or discharge routine. The target charge / discharge current curve does not have to be directly tied to time. For example, the target charge / discharge current curve can be specified as a function of the capacitor voltage.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 2a), it can be provided that the switching element arrangement 10 is designed as a half-bridge for the inductance 11, and that a high-side switching element 20 of the half-bridge is provided for pulsed charging via the inductance 11 in the charging routine and a low-side switching element 21 of the half-bridge is provided for pulsed discharging via the inductance 11.

[0041] To implement the charging routine on the one hand and the discharging routine on the other, the high-side switching element 20 and the low-side switching element 21 are controlled here via the charging / discharging driver 12. The switching elements can be MOSFETs. In the illustration in Fig. 2a), the high-side switching element 20 is operated during the charging routine to cause a pulsed connection of the battery voltage Ubat to the inductor 11. In the discharging routine, the low-side switching element 21 is operated to cause a pulsed connection of the capacitor 8 to ground via the inductor 11.

[0042] Here, and preferably, a further switching element 22 is provided, which is configured to disconnect the capacitor 8 from the inductance 11 and / or the switching element arrangement 10. The disconnection is preferably performed after the completion of the charging routine and / or discharging routine in order to avoid undesired discharging of the capacitor 8. Furthermore, it is preferably provided here that the charging / discharging circuit 9 is configured to carry out the charging routine and / or discharging routine upon a change in an operating mode of the motor vehicle 6, wherein operating modes of the motor vehicle 6 are assigned respective target capacitor charge states, in particular target capacitor voltages, which form the basis of the charging routine and / or discharging routine.

[0043] The currently active operating mode can, for example, be transmitted to the control arrangement 1 by another component of the motor vehicle 6, such as a central vehicle control system. A value for the desired capacitor charge level can also be transmitted to the control arrangement 1. The desired capacitor charge level, here the desired capacitor voltage, can be fed to the current control 14 described above, which initiates a corresponding charging and / or discharging routine to achieve the desired capacitor charge level.

[0044] In a preferred embodiment, a parking mode is provided as the operating mode, which is adopted, for example, when the motor vehicle 6 is stationary, in particular when the drive is switched off. A lower target capacitor charge level is assigned to the parking mode than to an operating mode provided as the driving mode. In parking mode, emergency operation is unlikely, so that the capacitor 8 can be brought to a low charge level, whereby the possibility of discharging via inductance 11, which is also used for charging, can be advantageously used. If the motor vehicle 6 switches to the driving mode, particularly rapid charging and thus full availability of the capacitor 8 can be achieved via the proposed control arrangement 1. Further operating modes can be provided.

[0045] Furthermore, it is preferably provided here that the charging / discharging circuit 9 is configured to carry out the charging routine and / or discharging routine in a temperature-dependent manner, wherein temperature values ​​are assigned respective target capacitor charge states, in particular target capacitor voltages, which form the basis of the charging routine and / or discharging routine. The target capacitor charge state is preferably specified as a function of the temperature value, wherein lower target capacitor charge states are provided, in particular, with higher temperature values ​​in order to increase the service life of the capacitor 8. The temperature values ​​are preferably representative of the temperature of the control arrangement 1, in particular of the capacitor 8. In particular, it is provided that the control arrangement 1 has a temperature sensor for determining the temperature value. The temperature sensor can, for example, be integrated into a component of the control arrangement 1 and / or attached to the capacitor 8.It is also conceivable that the temperature value is transmitted to the control arrangement 1, for example from the central motor vehicle control system, wherein the temperature value can also be representative of the temperature of the environment of the motor vehicle 6.

[0046] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the charging / discharging circuit 9 is configured to perform a diagnostic step in which a capacitance value and / or an ESR value of the capacitor 8 is / are determined based on the charging / discharging current. The flexible adjustment of the charging / discharging current enabled by the proposed solution can be used for diagnosis.

[0047] The capacitance value can be determined, for example, from the time required for the charge / discharge current to cause a voltage difference across capacitor 8. The capacitance value can be determined based on a constant charge / discharge current or, for example, an integrated value of a charge / discharge current curve. The ESR value can be determined based on a targeted variation of the charge / discharge current. For example, the charge / discharge current is briefly increased or reduced, whereby the resulting voltage difference can be used to determine the ESR value.

[0048] What is particularly advantageous here is that the charging / discharging circuit 9 can be configured to perform the diagnostic step during charging in the charging routine and / or during discharging in the discharging routine. An interruption of the charging routine and / or discharging routine is not absolutely necessary with the proposed solution. In one embodiment, a current sensor 23 is provided for determining the charging / discharging current of the capacitor 8 via a low-side shunt, which in Fig. 2 is provided between the low-side switching element 21 and ground. The current sensor 23 can also be used in the charging routine, wherein the current flowing from the inductor 11 between the pulses of the high-side switching element 20 can be determined. The current sensor 23 can also be used for other applications and can preferably be configured to monitor the drive current when controlling the drive 3.

[0049] Preferably, at least one current value is determined as the charging / discharging current at a midpoint between two pulses of the switching element arrangement 10. The current value can be measured at a point in time that is midway between the end of the previous pulse and the beginning of the subsequent pulse. The current value is representative of a temporally average current value. It can also be provided that at least one current value is determined at the respective beginning of pulses of the switching element arrangement 10.

[0050] When controlling the switching element arrangement 10, a center-aligned PWM can preferably be used to simplify the evaluation.

[0051] According to a further teaching, a motor vehicle locking system 2 is proposed, comprising a drive 3 with an electric drive motor 4 for providing a motorized locking function for an adjustable closure element 5 of a motor vehicle 6, and a proposed control arrangement 1. Reference may be made to all statements relating to the proposed control arrangement 1.

[0052] Furthermore, a motor vehicle lock 24 is preferably provided for the locking element 5 of the motor vehicle 6. The motor vehicle lock 24 is shown in Fig. 1 in a partially disassembled side view and is equipped with a lock latch 26 pivotable about a lock latch axis 25 for the holding engagement with a locking part 27 and a locking pawl 29 assigned to the lock latch 26 and pivotable about a pawl axis 28. The locking part 27 can be a striker, a locking bolt, or the like. For example, the motor vehicle lock 24 is arranged on a locking element 5, while the locking part 27 is arranged fixedly to the body of the motor vehicle 6.

[0053] The pawl 29 can be moved into a retracted position, as shown in Fig. 1, in which it holds the lock latch 26 in the closed position shown. Furthermore, the pawl 29 can be raised by a motor using the electric drive 3. For this purpose, the drive motor 4 is preferably connected to the pawl 29 by a drive cable 30. The motorized lifting of the pawl 29 corresponds in Fig. 1 to a pivoting of the pawl 29 clockwise about the pawl axis 28. In principle, the pawl 29 can also be part of a pawl system consisting of two or more sequentially arranged pawls assigned to the lock latch 26. The motorized lifting of the pawl 29 is triggered by the operating event, for example, actuation of the actuating element such as the door handle.

[0054] In addition to or instead of the locking function of the motor vehicle lock 24 explained in more detail here, the motor vehicle locking system 2 can also have a drive arrangement for motor-driven adjustment of an aforementioned locking element 5 of the motor vehicle 6, wherein the drive arrangement serves for motor-driven adjustment, in particular opening and / or closing, of the locking element 5. Further examples of locking functions include motor-driven adjustment of control elements as well as interior and exterior elements of the motor vehicle 6, such as fan elements, interior mirrors, side mirrors, lighting, or the like.

[0055] According to a further teaching, a method for operating a motor vehicle locking system 2 is proposed, wherein the motor vehicle locking system 2 has a drive 3 with an electric drive motor 4, wherein the drive 3 is controlled by means of a control arrangement 1 in response to an operating event in order to provide a motorized closing function for an adjustable closure element 5 of the motor vehicle 6, wherein the control arrangement 1 has an electrical, rechargeable energy store 7 with at least one capacitor 8, wherein an electrical emergency supply voltage is made available by means of the energy store 7 in emergency operation, in particular in the event of a failure of a normal supply voltage.

[0056] It is provided that, by means of a charging / discharging circuit 9 of the control arrangement 1 via a pulsed switching element arrangement 10, the capacitor 8 is charged in a charging routine via an inductance 11 based on the standard supply voltage, and the capacitor 8 is discharged in a discharging routine via the same inductance 11. Reference is made to all statements regarding the proposed control arrangement 1 and the proposed motor vehicle locking system 2. The properties of the motor vehicle locking system 2, the control arrangement 1, and their components, which are also characterized by the execution of a method step, are also intended to disclose the corresponding method steps.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Control arrangement for operating a motor vehicle locking system (2), wherein the motor vehicle locking system (2) has a drive (3) with an electric drive motor (4), wherein the control arrangement (1) controls the drive (3) in response to an operating event in order to provide a motorized closing function for an adjustable closure element (5) of the motor vehicle (6), wherein the control arrangement (1) has an electrical, rechargeable energy store (7) with at least one capacitor (8), wherein the energy store (7) provides an electrical emergency supply voltage in emergency operation, in particular in the event of a failure of a normal supply voltage, characterized in that a charging / discharging circuit (9) is provided, which is designed toto charge the capacitor (8) in a charging routine via an inductance (11) on the basis of the normal supply voltage via a pulsed switching element arrangement (10) and to discharge the capacitor (8) in a discharging routine via the same inductance (11).

2. Control arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the charging / discharging circuit (9) is designed to charge or discharge the energy store (7) in the charging routine and / or discharging routine via a current control (14) for the charging / discharging current of the capacitor (8).

3. Control arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the current control (14) is designed in a cascaded manner, preferably in that the current control (14) has a current regulator (15) for regulating to a desired charging / discharging current and a pulse regulator (16) for regulating to a desired charging / discharging voltage output by means of the current regulator (15), wherein the pulse regulator (16) controls the switching element arrangement (10), further preferably in that the current control (14) has a voltage regulator (17) which determines the desired charging / discharging current on the basis of the actual capacitor voltage and a desired capacitor voltage.

4. Control arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the current control (14) in the charging routine and / or discharging routine controls the charging / discharging current to a predetermined, constant target charging / discharging current or to a predetermined target charging / discharging current curve.

5. Control arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the switching element arrangement (10) is designed as a half-bridge for the inductance (11), and that a high-side switching element (20) of the half-bridge is provided for pulsed charging via the inductance (11) in the charging routine and a low-side switching element (21) of the half-bridge is provided for pulsed discharging via the inductance (11).

6. Control arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging / discharging circuit (9) is set up to carry out the charging routine and / or discharging routine upon a change in an operating mode of the motor vehicle (6), wherein operating modes of the motor vehicle (6) are assigned respective target capacitor charge states, in particular target capacitor voltages, which form the basis of the charging routine and / or discharging routine, preferably that a parking mode is provided as the operating mode, to which a lower target capacitor charge state is assigned than an operating mode provided as the driving mode.

7. Control arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging / discharging circuit (9) is set up to carry out the charging routine and / or discharging routine in a temperature-dependent manner, wherein temperature values ​​are assigned respective target capacitor charge states, in particular target capacitor voltages, which form the basis of the charging routine and / or discharging routine, in particular that the control arrangement (1) has a temperature sensor for determining the temperature value.

8. Control arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging / discharging circuit (9) is set up to carry out a diagnostic step in which a capacitance value and / or an ESR value of the capacitor (8) is / are determined on the basis of the charging / discharging current, preferably in that the charging / discharging circuit (9) is set up to carry out the diagnostic step during charging in the charging routine and / or during discharging in the discharging routine.

9. Control arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a current sensor (23) is provided for determining the charging / discharging current of the capacitor (8) via a low-side shunt, preferably that as charging / discharging current at least one current value at a middle time between two pulses of the switching element arrangement (10) and / or at least one current value is determined at the respective beginning of pulses of the switching element arrangement (10).

10. Motor vehicle locking system comprising a drive (3) with an electric drive motor (4) for providing a motorized locking function for an adjustable locking element (5) of a motor vehicle (6) and a control arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9.

11. Motor vehicle locking system according to claim 10, characterized in that a motor vehicle lock (24) is provided for the locking element (5) of the motor vehicle (6), that the motor vehicle lock (24) is equipped with a lock latch (26) for the holding engagement with a locking part (27) and a pawl (29) assigned to the lock latch (26), and that the electric drive (3) is provided for the motorized lifting of the pawl (29).

12. A method for operating a motor vehicle locking system (2), wherein the motor vehicle locking system (2) has a drive (3) with an electric drive motor (4), wherein the drive (3) is controlled by a control arrangement (1) in response to an operating event in order to provide a motorized closing function for an adjustable closure element (5) of the motor vehicle (6), wherein the control arrangement (1) has an electrical, rechargeable energy store (7) with at least one capacitor (8), wherein an electrical emergency supply voltage is provided by means of the energy store (7) in an emergency operation, in particular in the event of a failure of a normal supply voltage, characterized in thatthat by means of a charging / discharging circuit (9) of the control arrangement (1) via a pulsed switching element arrangement (10), the capacitor (8) is charged in a charging routine via an inductance (11) on the basis of the normal supply voltage and the capacitor (8) is discharged in a discharging routine via the same inductance (11).

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