Actuating Element Torsion Sensor for Vehicle Component Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle actuating systems for movable components like doors and flaps are structurally complex and do not ensure comfortable operation, as they rely on indirect calculations of movement and force, which can lead to unreliable detection of the operating position and actuation force.
Innovation Solution
An actuating element with an output shaft and integrated torsion sensor allows direct detection of torsion and actuation force, enabling the control unit to regulate the actuator's force application, independent of the upstream drive chain, using an electric drive, transmission, and clutch, with sensors like strain gauges or rotation angle sensors for precise movement detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If indirect calculation methods are used to detect movement and force, then the system can operate with simpler sensor placement, but the detection reliability and comfort operation are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a torsion sensor as an intermediary measurement device that directly measures the torsion of the output shaft. This mediator provides reliable detection of the operating position and actuation force without requiring complex indirect calculation systems, thus improving detection reliability while maintaining reasonable system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces indirect mechanical calculation methods with direct sensor-based detection. Instead of calculating movement and force through complex mechanical linkages and calculations, the system uses a torsion sensor to directly measure the torsion of the output shaft, substituting mechanical indirect detection with a more reliable direct sensing approach.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and complex calculation systems are implemented, then movement and force can be detected more accurately, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential measurement function from a complex multi-sensor system and concentrates it into a single torsion sensor that directly measures the output shaft torsion. This extraction approach achieves high measurement precision for operating position detection while significantly reducing the overall device complexity compared to using multiple sensors and calculation systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The torsion sensor serves multiple functions simultaneously: it detects the operating position of the actuating element, measures the actuation force through torsion measurement, and provides feedback for control. This multi-functionality achieves accurate measurement without requiring separate dedicated sensors for each measurement type, thus reducing device complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the actuator exerts high force throughout the travel path, then the movable component is securely held, but comfortable operation is reduced due to lack of force variation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic force control where the actuator's force output varies during the travel path. The control unit adjusts the actuator's force based on real-time torsion sensor feedback, enabling the system to provide high force when needed for securing the movable component while reducing force during other phases to enhance operation comfort. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between secure holding and operational comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a feedback control system where the torsion sensor continuously monitors the output shaft torsion and feeds this information back to the control unit. The control unit uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the actuator's force output, enabling the system to maintain secure component holding when high force is needed while providing comfortable operation by reducing force when appropriate, thus resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides reliable and direct detection of the operating position and actuation force, ensuring comfortable operation and structural simplicity by allowing immediate response to movement obstructions and force variations, enhancing user experience and system reliability.
Implementation Method 1
sensors like strain gauges or rotation angle sensors for precise movement detection
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a setting element (1) for a component that is movably fastened to a motor vehicle body (25), wherein the setting element (1) can be arranged between the vehicle body (25) and the movable component in such a way that by means of the setting element (1), a relative movement between the vehicle body (25) and the movable component can be generated, comprising an electric drive (2), a transmission (5) connected downstream of the electric drive (2), and a control unit (23), wherein the control unit (23) interacts with at least one sensor (21, 22) for detecting an operating position of the setting element (1), and wherein the transmission (5) is provided with an output shaft (18), and a torsion of the output shaft (18) can be detected directly by means of the sensor (21, 22).