Rotary brake

Abstract

The invention relates to a rotary brake (1) comprising: a support structure (2); and a stator-rotor assembly (3) having a stator (4) and a rotor (5), wherein: an accommodating space (6) of the stator-rotor assembly (3) is formed between the stator (4) and the rotor (5) and a magnetorheological medium (7) is present in the accommodating space (6); the stator-rotor assembly (3) can be fastened, in a fastening position, to the support structure (2) by means of at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) of the support structure (2) and, in the fastening position, the stator (4) is non-rotatably fastened to the support structure (2) and the rotor (5) is mounted for rotation relative to the stator (4); the stator-rotor assembly (3) comprises a coil (11) for generating a magnetic field (12) of variable field intensity and the rotary brake (1) comprises a contacting device (13) for bringing the coil (11) into contact with an electrical power supply (14); the fastening of the stator-rotor assembly (3), in the fastening position, to the support structure (2) necessarily establishes a connection position of the contacting device (13).

Description

[0001] Drehbremse

[0002] The present invention relates to a rotary brake which has a support structure and a stator-rotor assembly with a stator and a rotor, wherein a receiving space for the stator-rotor assembly is formed between the stator and the rotor and a magnetorheological medium is arranged in the receiving space, wherein the stator-rotor assembly can be fastened to the support structure in a fastening position by means of at least one fastening device of the support structure and in the fastening position the stator is fastened to the support structure in a rotationally fixed manner and the rotor is rotatably mounted relative to the stator, wherein the stator-rotor assembly has a coil for generating a magnetic field whose field strength is variable and the rotary brake has a contacting device for contacting the coil with an electrical power supply,whereby by changing the field strength of the magnetic field, a torsional resistance acting on the rotor can be adjusted by changing a viscosity of the magnetorheological medium.

[0003] Rotary brakes in which a magnetorheological medium is subjected to a variable magnetic field by means of a coil in order to thus change the torsional resistance of the rotor are known in the art. DE 10 2019 129 548 A1 describes such a rotary brake, which has a housing-like rotor or rotating body designed as a finger or thumb roller and an axle unit as the stator. The electrical connections for the coil of the rotary brake are realized in this document via a printed circuit board and a connecting cable. According to this document, the printed circuit board can be designed as a six- or eight-pin connector.

[0004] Another example of a rotary brake based on a magnetorheological operating principle is disclosed in WO 2021 / 123343 A1. This document proposes so-called magnetic field concentrators to improve the braking effect achievable by the magnetorheological medium.

[0005] Rotary brakes of this type can be used to solve a wide variety of technical tasks. A first broad field is that these rotary brakes are actually used as braking devices for decelerating a body and / or a movement. Another, equally broad field of application is as user interfaces for electronic devices. For example, such rotary brakes can be used in touchpads, gamepads, computer mice, joysticks, but also more generally in operating devices for machines, medical devices or motor vehicles. By appropriately controlling or energizing the coil, the torsional resistance of the rotor can be virtually freely specified and can also be varied depending on the position, in order to give the operator targeted haptic feedback during the rotation of the rotor relative to the stator and thus when operating the user interface.

[0006] Given the very broad range of applications for such rotary brakes, it is clear that installing them in or on the device in which they are to be used can sometimes be very complex, especially when space and accessibility are limited.

[0007] The object of the invention is therefore to create a rotary brake which is particularly easy to install.

[0008] To solve this problem, a rotary brake according to patent claim 1 is proposed.

[0009] It is therefore provided according to the invention in a rotary brake of the type mentioned at the outset that the contacting device has at least two electrical contacts on the assembly side arranged on the stator-rotor assembly, and at least two electrical contacts on the support side arranged on the support structure, and the electrical contacts on the assembly side are electrically conductively connected to one another with the electrical contacts on the support side in a connecting position of the contacting device, wherein the connecting position of the contacting device is automatically set by fastening the stator-rotor assembly in the fastening position on the support structure.

[0010] In short, a basic idea of ​​the invention is to design and arrange the individual components of the rotary brake according to the invention in such a way that when the stator-rotor assembly is mechanically fastened in the fastening position to the support structure, the electrical contacts required for supplying power to the coil are connected automatically, or in other words automatically, or in still other words simultaneously. In still other words, the invention thus provides that the electrical contacts on the assembly side are automatically electrically conductively connected to the electrical contacts on the carrier side when the stator-rotor assembly is fastened to the support structure and thus brought into the fastening position. This has various advantages.In this way, the electrical contacting of the coil via the contacting device and the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly to the support structure take place simultaneously in a single operation. This differs from the prior art in that, in the prior art, the electrical contacting and the mechanical fastening had to be carried out one after the other in two separate operations. The invention is particularly advantageous when the rotary brake has to be installed in a difficult-to-access, spatially confined environment, since the electrical contacting is then carried out automatically even when the stator-rotor assembly is fastened in and / or to the support structure.

[0011] In addition to the rotary brake according to the invention, a further aspect of the invention relates to a user interface for an electronic device, wherein the user interface has a rotary brake according to the invention and the rotor can be subjected to the variable twisting resistance in order to control the electronic device. This can be, for example, user interfaces for computer mice, controllers, game consoles, gaming equipment, joysticks or rotary knobs in a keyboard. User interfaces according to the invention can, generally speaking, be used, for example, in kitchen and household appliances, in entertainment electronics, in cameras, film cameras, hi-fi and television systems, smart devices, smart home devices, PCs, watches and the like. Rotary brakes according to the invention or user interfaces equipped therewith can, however, also be used to control a wide variety of machines, devices and also in vehicles. E.g.In vehicles with such user interfaces, the on-board electronics, air conditioning, seat adjustment, etc. can be controlled. Of course, rotary brakes according to the invention can also be used as braking devices for decelerating a wide variety of bodies and / or movements.

[0012] For this purpose, the rotor can be designed, for example, as a wheel that can be rotated with a finger or by hand, a thumb roller or the like, or it can be connected to such a component. In all of these applications, the torsional resistance of the rotor that is perceived haptically by the user or operator can be varied in a wide variety of ways in order to always give the user a specific, more or less freely definable haptic feedback. The rotor can be braked to varying degrees or blocked completely. Various sequences of notches, stops and the like can be specified.

[0013] In order to be able to detect and include the instantaneous position of the rotor, rotary brakes according to the invention preferably have a position sensor. Suitable position sensors which can be used in rotary brakes according to the invention are known per se in numerous designs in the prior art. Such position sensors can, for example, determine the relative position between the rotor and stator or between the rotor and the supporting structure. Furthermore, they can also be used to determine the number of revolutions of the rotor or the speed at which the rotor is rotated. All of these measured values ​​from such position sensors can be used by a controller as a controlled variable for controlling an electrical power supply which is used to supply current to the coil of the rotary brake.Based on these control variables, the controller can then, following the desired specifications, use the coil to adjust the field strength of the magnetic field in the receiving chamber so that the desired or specified torsional resistance acts on the rotor.

[0014] The rotor can also be referred to as a rotating body. It can be designed as a type of housing that surrounds the stator and the receiving space. However, it is also possible to design the rotor as a type of axle body. The rotor can be mounted so that it can rotate relative to the stator in one direction or in two opposite directions. The rotatability of the rotor relative to the stator can be limited within a predetermined rotation range, e.g. by end stops. However, it is just as possible for the rotor to perform an infinite number of revolutions relative to the stator, as long as this is not prevented by the magnetorheological medium.

[0015] The receiving space containing the magnetorheological medium is advantageously formed as a gap between the stator and rotor. A sequence of projections and recesses can be formed on both the stator and the rotor to concentrate the magnetic field at specific points within the receiving space. Thus, the technology described in WO 2021 / 123343 A1 in the form of the magnetic field concentrators mentioned therein can also be used to implement rotary brakes according to the invention.

[0016] The stator is the component of the stator-rotor assembly which, in the fastening position, is fastened to the support structure in a rotationally fixed manner. The stator can be an axle body of any design. However, the stator can also be housing-shaped, particularly if the rotor, as a type of axle body, is partially rotatably mounted within the stator. Regardless of the specific design, seals are advantageously provided between the rotor and stator to seal off the receiving space for the magnetorheological medium from the outside, so that the magnetorheological medium cannot diffuse outwards and be lost. On the other hand, such seals can also prevent dirt penetrating the receiving space from the outside from contaminating the magnetorheological medium.

[0017] A wide variety of magnetorheological media, known per se from the prior art, can be used in rotary brakes according to the invention. Such a magnetorheological medium is a mixture of at least one fluid and magnetizable particles. The fluid can be gaseous or liquid, or both gaseous and liquid. It can therefore be, for example, air or another gas or gas mixture. The fluid can also be oil or the like. Particles made of carbonyl iron, for example, can be used as magnetizable particles. These magnetizable particles can be uncoated or coated with an anti-corrosive coating, a wear-reducing coating, etc. The magnetorheological medium can contain additional additives, such as, for example, corrosion inhibitors and / or wear-reducing particles such as graphite, etc.

[0018] In principle, there are a wide variety of design options for the at least one fastening device, which ensures the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly in the fastening position on the support structure, as well as for the contacting device, which ensures the electrical power supply to the coil. However, in the interests of particularly simple assembly, it is advantageously provided that the fastening device is designed as part of a plug-in connection, preferably a snap-in connection. In this sense, it is also advantageous if the contacting device is designed as a plug-in connection, preferably as a snap-in connection.

[0019] In rotary brakes according to the invention, it can be provided that the stator-rotor assembly is brought into the fastening position only once during initial assembly and then remains fastened to the support structure without this fastening being able to be undone again in a non-destructive manner. However, it is generally more advantageous if non-destructive disassembly is also possible. In this context, preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the at least one fastening device is designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and release, and the contacting device is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and release.

[0020] In principle, the invention allows for the coil to be arranged on and / or in the rotor, and for the electrical contacts on the component side to be arranged on the rotor. However, when implementing such configurations, sliding contacts or the like are generally required to enable the rotor to rotate, on the one hand, and to ensure the current transmission to the coil, on the other.

[0021] Preferred embodiments of the invention therefore provide that the coil is arranged on and / or in the stator and the electrical contacts on the assembly side are arranged on the stator. The electrically conductive connections between the coil and the electrical contacts on the assembly side are then preferably formed in the stator and / or passed through the stator. Electrical lines, such as cables, in particular cables that are electrically insulated from the outside, or lines on printed circuit boards can be used as electrically conductive connections. However, it is also possible to use correspondingly electrically conductive areas of the stator directly as electrically conductive connections.

[0022] For ease of assembly, the fastening device(s) may be fork-shaped. The fastening device(s) may hold the stator in a rotationally fixed manner to the supporting structure by means of a positive fit or the like. The rotor may be rotatably mounted either on or at the stator or on the supporting structure. In the latter case, the fastening device is advantageously rounded.

[0023] Preferred variants of the invention provide that the support structure has at least two fastening devices arranged at a distance from one another. With such embodiments, it is then possible to arrange the stator-rotor assembly between the fastening devices in the fastening position.

[0024] Particularly preferred embodiments of rotary brakes according to the invention provide that the stator has two axle bolts that are electrically insulated from one another. These are preferably arranged coaxially to one another. The axle bolts can be arranged one behind the other, viewed in their axial direction. However, embodiments are also conceivable in which the axle bolts are arranged one inside the other. For example, there can be an inner axle bolt that is arranged within an outer axle bolt with appropriate electrical insulation interposed.

[0025] The axle bolts can be shaped in a variety of ways. They can have a round or non-round outer contour, for example, with a square or polygonal outer structure. Such non-circular structures are particularly advantageous when the axle bolt is used to fasten the stator in a rotationally fixed manner to a correspondingly shaped fastening device, in particular a fork.

[0026] Particularly preferred variants of the invention provide that the axle bolts form the electrical contacts on the assembly side. In such embodiments, the axle bolts thus have two functions. On the one hand, they serve to mechanically attach the stator or the stator-rotor assembly to the support structure, and on the other hand, they also serve to electrically contact the coil.

[0027] In this context, it can preferably also be provided that the support structure has at least two fastening devices that are electrically insulated from one another, wherein the stator is fastened to the fastening devices with its axle bolts in the fastening position and the fastening devices form the electrical contacts on the support side.

[0028] As an alternative to these designs, where the

[0029] If axle bolts are also used as electrical contacts, it can also be provided that the contacting device is designed as an electrical plug connector with two plug connector parts, wherein one of the plug connector parts comprises the electrical contacts on the assembly side and is arranged on the stator-rotor assembly, preferably on the stator, and the other of the plug connector parts comprises the electrical contacts on the support side and is arranged on the support structure. In these embodiments, the electrical contacting of the coil is then preferably not carried out via the axle bolts but via separately designed plug connector parts and their electrical contacts.

[0030] For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that additional functionalities can be realized using rotary brakes according to the invention, particularly when used as part of a user interface. For example, the entire rotary brake with its support structure can be mounted on or at another support structure in a rotatable, tiltable, and / or displaceable manner.

[0031] In a rotary brake according to the preamble of patent claim 1, an assembly method can provide that the contacting device has at least two electrical contacts on the assembly side arranged on the stator-rotor assembly and at least two electrical contacts on the support structure, wherein the electrical contacts on the assembly side are necessarily electrically conductively connected to the support-side electrical contacts in the connecting position of the contacting device when the stator-rotor assembly is fastened to the support structure in the fastening position. Even if individual components of the rotary brake and / or the user interface are often only mentioned in the singular here, they can of course nevertheless be present multiple times when the invention is implemented.

[0032] In particular, the rotary brake can have a plurality of coils for generating a magnetic field whose field strength can be varied. "Multiple" means that the rotary brake can also have two or more coils. This can be used to increase the torque absorbed by the rotary brake without increasing the diameter of the rotary brake. Preferably, the coils are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the stator-rotor assembly. The coils are preferably electrically connected in series.

[0033] Further features and details of preferred embodiments of the invention are explained below using various exemplary embodiments. They show:

[0034] Fig. 1 to 7 are schematic representations of a first embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention;

[0035] Fig. 8 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention;

[0036] Fig. 9 and 10 show an example of how rotary brakes according to the invention can be used as a user interface for an electronic device;

[0037] Fig. 11 to 13 show representations of a third exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention; Fig. 14 to 16 show representations of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake according to the invention;

[0038] Fig. 17 a rotary brake according to the invention with several coils and

[0039] Fig. 18 shows a mobile phone with a rotary brake according to Fig. 17.

[0040] 1 to 7 show schematic representations of a first exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a vertical section, Fig. 2 shows the stator-rotor assembly 3 of this rotary brake 1, detached from the other components in a perspective view. Fig. 3 shows the section along section line AA from Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 6 show the stator-rotor assembly 3 and the support structure 2 in a separated state in a side view. Figs. 5 and 7 show side views in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is fastened to the support structure 2 in the fastening position.

[0041] In the vertical section according to Fig. 1, in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is in the fastening position, it can be seen first of all that the support structure 2 in this exemplary embodiment has two fastening devices 8 and 9, which are arranged at a distance from one another. Both fastening devices 8 and 9 are fixed on a base 30 of the support structure and are electrically insulated from one another. The stator-rotor assembly 3 has a stator 4 and a rotor 5. Between the stator 4 and the rotor 5, a receiving space 6 of the stator-rotor assembly 3 is formed, in which the magnetorheological medium 7 is located. The stator 4 is in the position shown in Fig. 1

[0042] Fastening position fastened to the support structure 2 in a rotationally fixed manner. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the stator 4 is formed by an axle body which has two axle bolts 21 and 22. These are electrically insulated from one another by means of the electrical insulation 31 and arranged coaxially to one another. The rotor 5 is rotatably mounted relative to the stator 4. In this first exemplary embodiment, this is achieved in such a way that the rotor 4 is rotatably mounted on the stator 4. In this exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 forms a type of housing, in the interior of which part of the stator 4 and the receiving space 6 are located. In the exemplary embodiment, the rotor 5 has two half-shells which are materially connected to one another, e.g. by means of ultrasonic welding or gluing. In order to seal the receiving space 6 from the outside, the seals 28 are arranged between the stator 4 and the rotor 5.On the one hand, the seals 28 prevent the magnetorheological medium from escaping from the receiving chamber 6 to the outside. On the other hand, the seals 28 also ensure that no dirt from outside can penetrate into the receiving chamber 6. The seals 28 thus prevent contamination of the magnetorheological medium 7. In the exemplary embodiment, the surface layers of the axle bolts 21, 22 are hardened in the area of ​​the seals 28. This reduces wear and the coefficient of friction.

[0043] In this embodiment, the rotor 5 is formed from two half-shells that are connected to each other. The rotor 5 can be made entirely or partially of plastic. However, other designs and materials are also possible.

[0044] In this embodiment, the rotor 5 also has a magnetizable ring 29, usually made of metal, which delimits the receiving space 6 and promotes the formation and concentration of the magnetic field 12 in the receiving space 6. Such magnetizable rings 29 can, of course, also be used in other embodiments of the invention.

[0045] To generate a magnetic field 12 whose field strength is variable, the stator-rotor assembly 3 has a coil 11. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this is arranged on and also partially in the stator 4, which simplifies electrical contact, as explained in more detail below. By changing the field strength of the magnetic field 12 by appropriately applying current to the coil 11, the viscosity of the magnetorheological medium 7 can be varied in order to be able to set the desired torsional resistance acting on the rotor 5. This also makes it possible to completely block the rotor 5.

[0046] For contacting, i.e. for establishing electrical contact between the coil 11 and the electrical power supply 14, the rotary brake 1 according to the invention has the contacting device 13. According to the invention, the contacting device 13 has at least two electrical contacts 15, 16 on the assembly side arranged on the stator-rotor assembly 3, and at least two electrical contacts 17, 18 on the support structure 2, and the electrical contacts 15, 16 on the assembly side are electrically conductively connected to the support-side electrical contacts 17, 18 in a connecting position of the contacting device 13, the connecting position of the contacting device 13 being automatically established by fastening the stator-rotor assembly 3 in the fastening position to the support structure 2.The inventive design therefore ensures that, during assembly of the stator-rotor assembly 3 to the support structure 2, the assembly-side electrical contacts 15 and 16 are automatically or forcibly brought into the connecting position with the support-side electrical contacts 17 and 18 and are thus electrically connected to one another when the stator-rotor assembly 3, previously detached from the support structure 2, is fastened to the support structure 2 in the fastening position. In other words, the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly 3 automatically also establishes electrical contact. Both processes therefore occur in a single process step during assembly.

[0047] A special feature of this first exemplary embodiment is that the axle bolts 21 and 22 not only serve to mechanically fasten the stator-rotor assembly 3 to the support structure 2 or its fastening devices 8 and 9, but also simultaneously form the assembly-side electrical contacts 15 and 16. In this exemplary embodiment, however, the support structure 2 is designed such that the two fastening devices 8 and 9 are electrically insulated from one another and spaced from one another. In this exemplary embodiment, the fastening devices 8 and 9 also form the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18. In this exemplary embodiment, the electrical lines 27 are provided for the electrically conductive connection of these fastening devices 8 and 9 and thus the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18 to the electrical power source 14.

[0048] The controller 32 controls the electrical power supply 14 such that the coil 11 in the receiving chamber 6 generates the magnetic field 12 with the currently desired field strength. This sets the viscosity of the magnetorheological medium 7 required for the currently desired torsional resistance of the rotor 5. By changing the current intensity applied to the coil 11, the torsional resistance acting on the rotor 5 can also be varied and adjusted as desired.

[0049] In order to be able to determine the current position of the rotor 5 relative to the stator 4 or relative to the support structure 2 and any change therein, a position sensor 33 known per se is present in this exemplary embodiment as well as in other preferred exemplary embodiments. In this exemplary embodiment it has a first component attached to the rotor 5 and a second component attached to the support structure 2 or the fastening device 9. These can be known encoders, incremental encoders or the like. In any case, the aim is for the position sensor 33 to be able to measure the current relative position of the rotor 5 and any change therein, and if necessary also the speed of the change. In this exemplary embodiment as well as in other preferred embodiments these measured values ​​are then passed on to the controller 32. The controller 32 can then process the measured values ​​supplied by the position sensor 33 together with other, e.g.Use the default values ​​entered via appropriate input devices to adjust the electrical power supply 14 to the current supply to the coil 11 that is desired at the moment.

[0050] The electrical connection of the coil 11 to the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side, and thus in this exemplary embodiment to the axle bolts 21 and 22, is made via the electrically conductive connections 19 and 20. In this exemplary embodiment, the electrically conductive connection 19, which electrically connects one end 44 of the winding of the coil 11 to the axle bolt 21, is designed as an insulated cable. The electrically conductive connection 20, which electrically connects the other end 45 of the winding of the coil 11 to the axle bolt 22, is formed directly by the metallic body of the corresponding sub-region of the stator 4 and the axle bolt 22. Of course, this electrically conductive connection 20 could also be designed in the form of an electrically conductive, outwardly insulated cable between the corresponding end 45 of the winding of the coil 11 and the axle bolt 22.

[0051] Preferably, the fastening devices 8 and 9, as also realized in this exemplary embodiment, are designed as part of a plug-in connection, in particular a snap-in connection. The contacting device 13 is also designed as a plug-in connection, in particular as a snap-in connection in this first exemplary embodiment. This first exemplary embodiment is therefore a variant in which the fastening devices 8 and 9 are designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and release of the mechanical connection between the stator-rotor assembly 3 on the one hand and the support structure 2 on the other hand. Analogously, in this exemplary embodiment the contacting device 13 is also designed for multiple non-destructive connection and release of the electrical connection between the coil 11 and the electrical power supply 14.In this exemplary embodiment, both are achieved either by fastening the axle bolts 21 and 22 to the fastening devices 8 and 9 or by correspondingly loosening this fastening. For this purpose, it can be provided, for example, as also realized in the first exemplary embodiment, that the fastening devices 8 and 9 are fork-shaped. In Figs. 4 to 7 it can be clearly seen that for this fork-shaped design, the forks 36 and 37 are located at the corresponding upper ends of the fastening devices 8 and 9. These serve to accommodate and firmly hold the axle bolts 21 and 22 of the stator 4 and thus of the stator-rotor assembly 3 in the fastening position.

[0052] Fig. 2 now shows the stator-rotor assembly 3 of this first embodiment in an oblique view from above. It is clearly visible in Fig. 2 that, in this embodiment, the end of the axle bolt 22 protruding from the rotor 5 is provided in the shape of a polygon. In combination with the corresponding design of the fork 37 and thus the fastening device 9, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, this results in a rotationally fixed connection of the stator 4 to the support structure 2 in the fastening position.

[0053] Fig. 3 shows the section along section line AA from Fig. 1. It can be seen in particular that the stator 4 in this region has a sequence of projections 34 and recesses 35 on its outer contour facing the receiving space 6. This results in a structure by which the magnetic field 12 is concentrated in the region of the projections 34 in a manner as described under the term "magnetic field concentrators" in the aforementioned WO 2021 / 123343 A1.

[0054] 4 and 6 show, in corresponding, mutually opposite side views of the first exemplary embodiment, a situation in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is not yet fastened to the support structure 2. Figs. 5 and 7 each show the corresponding fastening position in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is held by the axle bolts 21 and 22 of the stator 4 in the fastening position in the fastening devices 8 and 9. In Fig. 5 one can see particularly well the positive connection between the polygon of the axle bolt 22 and the correspondingly shaped fork 37 of the fastening device 9, which ensures that the stator 4 is held against rotation on the support structure 2.

[0055] Fig. 8 shows a sectional view of a second embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention, which represents a modified variant compared to the first embodiment. Accordingly, only the differences from the first embodiment will be discussed below, and otherwise reference is made to the explanations for the first embodiment.

[0056] A significant difference in the second embodiment according to Fig. 8 compared to the first embodiment is that the two axle bolts 21 and 22 are not only arranged coaxially and electrically insulated from one another, but also that one axle bolt 21 is guided within the other axle bolt 22. The axle bolt 21 forms, so to speak, a core, and the outer axle bolt 22 forms a jacket enclosing this core with the interposition of the electrical insulation 31.

[0057] One thing this second embodiment has in common with the first embodiment is that here too the axle bolts 21 and 22 not only serve to mechanically fasten or support the stator-rotor assembly 3 on the support structure 2, but also form the assembly-side electrical contacts 15 and 16. For this purpose, the axle bolt 21 is mounted in an electrically conductive manner in the fastening device 10 or its fork 38, while the axle bolt 22 is mounted in an electrically conductive manner in the fastening device 9 or its fork 37. Accordingly, in this embodiment the fastening devices 9 and 10 are also connected to the electrical power supply 14 by means of electrical lines 27. The electrical contact between the coil 11 and the two axle bolts 21 and 22 is carried out in accordance with the principle as in the first embodiment.

[0058] A further difference from the first embodiment is that in this second embodiment, the rotor 5 is rotatably mounted on the stator 4 only on one side by means of the seal 28. On the other side, the rotor 5 has a rotor bearing pin 43, by means of which it is rotatably mounted in the fastening device 8 of the support structure 2.

[0059] The rotationally fixed connection between stator 4 and support structure 2 can be realized in this second embodiment by a corresponding positive connection between at least one of the fastening devices 9 and 10 and the respective axle bolt 21 or 22, as is shown by way of example in the first embodiment in Figs. 2, 4 and 5.

[0060] 9 and 10 now show, schematically and by way of example, a user interface 26 according to the invention for an electronic device, wherein the user interface 26 has a rotary brake 1 according to the invention and the rotor 5 can be subjected to the variable rotational resistance in order to control the electronic device. In this example, the electronic device is a games console 39 which has a joystick 40 known per se and a trigger lever 41. The trigger lever 41 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the rotor 5 of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. The stator-rotor assembly 3 of this rotary brake 1 is fastened in the housing of the games console 39 by means of corresponding fastening devices 8, 9, 10 and is also electrically contacted according to the invention. By means of the rotary brake 1 according to the invention, a predefinable and variable haptic feedback can be given to the user when the trigger lever 41 is actuated.With the rotary brake 1 according to the invention, it is therefore possible to counteract a pivoting movement of the trigger lever 41 with a predeterminable and also variable twisting resistance. By means of the rotary brake 1, notches or stops can also be realized at any predeterminable positions of the trigger lever 41. In order to be able to generate an additional haptic signal, various types of vibrators or the like can be additionally installed in the game console 39. Of course, other control elements can also be integrated into the game console 39. Fig. 10 shows that a vibrator 42 for emitting an additional haptic signal can also be integrated directly into the trigger lever 41. This example shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is of course only one of many and must therefore not be regarded as limiting. There are numerous other possibilities for equipping user interfaces 26 for electronic devices with a rotary brake 1 according to the invention.

[0061] A third embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention is shown in Figs. 11 to 13. This embodiment has the most in common with the second embodiment according to Fig. 8, so that only the differences from the second embodiment will be explained below, and otherwise reference is made to the descriptions of the first and second embodiments.

[0062] The essential difference from the second exemplary embodiment is that in this third exemplary embodiment the stator 4 or its axle bolt 21 do not form the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side. Rather, it is provided that the contacting device 13 is designed as an electrical plug connector 23 with two plug connector parts 24, 25, wherein one of the plug connector parts 24 comprises the electrical contacts 15, 16 on the assembly side and is arranged on the stator-rotor assembly 3, preferably on the stator 4, and the other of the plug connector parts 25 comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17, 18 and is arranged on the support structure 2. The plug connector part 24, which comprises the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side, is fastened here to the stator 4 or its axle bolt 21.The connector part 25 , which comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18 , is fastened to the fastening device 9 of the support structure 2 .

[0063] Fig. 12 shows a side view of a state in which the stator-rotor assembly 3 is not yet arranged in the fastening position. Accordingly, the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side are not yet connected to the electrical contacts 17 and 18 on the carrier side. The contacting device 13 is therefore not yet in the connecting position in Fig. 12. The two plug connector parts 24 and 25 of the electrical plug connector 23 are still separated from one another. This is different in Fig. 13. Here, the rotary brake 1 is shown in the fully assembled position. The stator-rotor assembly 3 is therefore in the fastening position in which it is fastened to the support structure 2 or its fastening device 8 and 9. Accordingly, in Fig. 13 also the connector parts 24 and 25 are completely inserted into each other so that the contacting device 13 is in the connecting position.According to the invention, this embodiment also provides that the mechanical fastening of the stator-rotor assembly 3 to the support structure 2 automatically leads to the interconnection of the assembly-side electrical contacts 15 and 16 with the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18. The rotationally fixed connection between the support structure 2 and the stator 4 in this embodiment is achieved, as in the first embodiment, via the positive engagement between the fork 37 or fastening device 9 and the axle bolt 21.

[0064] In Fig . 11 one can clearly see that in this exemplary embodiment the electrically conductive connections 19 and 20 between the coil 11 and the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the component side are led through the stator 4 , e . g . as a cable .

[0065] Figs. 14 to 16 show a fourth embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. Here, too, only the differences from the previously described embodiments will be discussed, and otherwise reference is made to the above explanations.

[0066] In this exemplary embodiment according to Figs. 14 to 16, the stator 4 is designed as a type of housing in which the rotor 5 is rotatably mounted. The sealing of the receiving space 6 for the magnetorheological medium 7, arranged between the stator 4 and the rotor 5, is in turn sealed by means of the seal 28. For the functioning of the rotary brake 1, reference can be made to the above descriptions.

[0067] The stator 4 is held in the fastening position in two fastening devices 8 and 9 of the support structure 2, as can be seen in Figs. 14 and 16. In this exemplary embodiment, the fastening devices 8 and 9 again have forks 36 and 37, which serve to receive the stator 4 and also ensure the rotationally fixed fastening of the stator 4 to the support structure 2.

[0068] 14 to 16, however, the fastening devices 8 and 9 serve exclusively for the mechanical fastening of the stator 4. In this fourth exemplary embodiment, the electrical contacting of the coil 11 takes place via a contacting device 13, which in turn is designed as an electrical plug connector 23. A first plug connector part 24, which comprises the electrical contacts 15 and 16 on the assembly side, is arranged on the stator 4. In this exemplary embodiment, the corresponding plug connector part 25, which comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts 17 and 18, is fixed to the support structure 2 or, as the case may be, to its base 30. This variant also provides for the connection position of the contacting device 13 to be reached automatically, or in other words forcibly, when the stator-rotor assembly 3 is mounted in the support structure 2.Here, too, the invention provides that by fastening the stator-rotor assembly 3 in the fastening position to the support structure 2, the contacting device 13 is automatically adjusted to the connecting position. In this fourth exemplary embodiment, the fastening devices 8 and 9 are also designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and detachment, just like the contacting device 13, which is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and detachment.

[0069] Fig. 17 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a rotary brake 1 according to the invention. This is a modification of the exemplary embodiment from Fig. 1, so that only the differences will be discussed here and otherwise reference is made to the descriptions for Fig. 1.

[0070] Fig. 17 shows an example of a variant in which the rotary brake 1 has a plurality of coils 11 for generating a magnetic field 12 whose field strength can be varied. In this embodiment, the coils 11 are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the stator-rotor assembly 3 and are preferably electrically connected in series. This can be used to increase the torque that can be absorbed by the rotary brake 1 without increasing the diameter of the rotary brake 1. Only the axial length of the rotary brake 1 is longer in this variant than in variants with only one coil 11.

[0071] Fig. 18 shows an electronic device in the form of a mobile phone 46, here specifically in the form of a smartphone or other smart device, in which a rotary brake 1 according to Fig. 17 is used. The rotary brake 1 can be used to control a wide variety of functions of this mobile phone 46 or smart device, e.g. for brightness or volume control, for adjusting the zoom of a camera, as a scroll function, etc. The stator-rotor assembly 3 can be attached to the support structure 2 in a simple manner, e.g. by clipping on, which according to the invention also automatically creates electrical contact. The rotary brake 1 can be attached to the back of the mobile phone 46, but alternatively also at other locations, as shown in dashed lines in Fig. 18. The support structure 2 can be integrated into the housing of the mobile telephone 46 or attached as a separate part to the housing of the mobile telephone 46.The latter also enables retrofitting to an existing mobile phone 46 or other smart device. Depending on the type of integration or attachment to the mobile phone 46 or smart device, electrical contact can also be established. The electrical lines 27 can be routed to the outside of the housing and connected to the mobile phone 46 via a plug 47, or they can be integrated directly into the mobile phone 46. The same applies, of course, to other electronic devices in which a rotary brake 1 according to the invention is used.

[0072] L egend to the reference numbers:

[0073] Rotary brake 23 Electrical support structure Connector stator-rotor assembly 24 Connector part stator 25 Connector part rotor 26 User interface

[0074] Receiving chamber 27 electrical line magneto rheological 28 sealing medium 29 magnetizable ring

[0075] Mounting device 30 Base Mounting device 31 Electrical insulation Mounting device 32 Regulator coil 33 Position sensor

[0076] Magnetic field 34 Projection contact device 35 Recess electrical 36 Fork power supply 37 Fork assembly sei tiger 38 Fork electrical contact 39 Game console assembly sei tiger 40 Joystick electrical contact 41 Trigger lever carrier side 42 Vibrator electrical contact 43 Rotor bearing bolt carrier side 44 End electrical contact 45 End electrically conductive 46 Mobile phone connection 47 Plug electrically conductive connection Axle bolt Axle bolt

Claims

Patent claims 1. A rotary brake (1) comprising a support structure (2) and a stator-rotor assembly (3) with a stator (4) and a rotor (5), wherein a receiving space (6) for the stator-rotor assembly (3) is formed between the stator (4) and the rotor (5), and a magnetorheological medium (7) is arranged in the receiving space (6), wherein the stator-rotor assembly (3) can be fastened to the support structure (2) in a fastening position by means of at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) of the support structure (2), and in the fastening position the stator (4) is fastened to the support structure (2) in a rotationally fixed manner, and the rotor (5) is rotatably mounted relative to the stator (4), wherein the stator-rotor assembly (3) comprises a coil (11) for generating a magnetic field (12) whose field strength is variable, and the rotary brake (1) comprises a contacting device (13). for contacting the coil (11) with an electrical power supply (14),wherein by changing the field strength of the magnetic field (12) a torsional resistance acting on the rotor (5) is increased by means of a, Changing a viscosity of the magnetorheological medium (7) is adjustable, characterized in that the contacting device (13) has at least two electrical contacts (15, 16) arranged on the stator-rotor assembly (3) on the assembly side, and at least two electrical contacts (17, 18) arranged on the support structure (2), and the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side are electrically conductively connected to the electrical contacts (17, 18) on the support side in a connecting position of the contacting device (13), wherein the connecting position of the contacting device (13) is automatically established by fastening the stator-rotor assembly (3) in the fastening position to the support structure (2).

2. Rotary brake (1) according to claim 1, wherein the fastening device (8, 9, 10) is designed as part of a plug connection, preferably a snap-in connection, and / or the contacting device (13) is designed as a plug connection, preferably as a snap-in connection.

3. Rotary brake (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) is designed for multiple non-destructive fastening and release and the contacting device (13) is designed for multiple non-destructive connection and release.

4. Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coil (11) is arranged on and / or in the stator (4) and the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side are arranged on the stator (4), wherein it is preferably provided that electrically conductive connections (19, 20) between the coil (11) and the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side are formed in the stator (4) and / or are led through the stator (4).

5. Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one fastening device (8, 9, 10) is fork-shaped, and / or wherein the support structure (2) has at least two fastening devices (8, 9, 10) arranged at a distance from one another.

6. Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the stator (4) has two axle bolts (21, 22) which are electrically insulated from one another and preferably arranged coaxially to one another.

7. Rotary brake (1) according to claim 6, wherein the axle bolts (21, 22) form the electrical contacts (15, 16) on the assembly side.

8. Rotary brake (1) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the support structure (2) has at least two fastening devices (8, 9, 10) which are electrically insulated from one another, wherein the stator (4) is fastened to the fastening devices (8, 9, 10) with its axle bolts (21, 22) in the fastening position and the fastening devices (8, 9, 10) form the carrier-side electrical contacts (17, 18).

9. Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the contacting device (13) is designed as an electrical plug connector (23) with two plug connector parts (24, 25), wherein one of the plug connector parts (24) comprises the module-side electrical contacts (15, 16) and is arranged on the stator-rotor module (3), preferably on the stator (4), and the other of the plug connector parts (25) comprises the carrier-side electrical contacts (17, 18) and is arranged on the support structure (2).

10. Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the rotary brake (1) has a plurality of coils (11) for generating a magnetic field (12) whose field strength can be varied.

11. Rotary brake (1) according to claim 10, wherein the coils (11) are electrically connected in series and / or wherein the Coils (11) are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the stator-rotor assembly (3).

12. User interface (26) for an electronic device, wherein the user interface (26) comprises a Rotary brake (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, and the rotor (5) can be subjected to the variable rotational resistance for controlling the electronic device.

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