US-12623509-B2 - Device for manipulating an actuator, in particular in the form of a throttle or closure flap, of an air vent, an air vent comprising such a device as well as a method for manipulating an actuator, in particular in the form of a throttle or closure flap, of an air vent

US12623509B2US 12623509 B2US12623509 B2US 12623509B2US-12623509-B2

Abstract

A device for manipulating an actuator, designed in particular in the form of a throttle valve or closure flap, of an air vent, wherein the actuator is optionally designed as an air-directing element or as part of a package of air-directing elements. The device has a motor-operated, in particular electromotive, drive, which is or can be coupled mechanically to the actuator in such a way that the actuator can be adjusted relative to the housing of the air vent by activating the drive. The device also has a sensor system for, in particular, directly sensing a real actual position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent.

Inventors

Manfred Groben
Günther Krämer

Assignees

ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220105
Priority Date: 20210107

Claims (16)

1 . A device for manipulating an actuator, in the form of a throttle valve or closure flap, of an air vent, wherein the device comprises: a motor-operated drive, which is or can be coupled mechanically to the actuator in such a way that the actuator can be adjusted relative to a housing of the air vent by activating the motor- operated drive; and a sensor system for sensing a real actual position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent; and an apparatus for performing functional monitoring of the motor-operated drive, which apparatus is configured to interrupt actuation of the motor-operated drive or to cancel actuation of the motor-operated drive or to act on actuation of the motor-operated drive if the actual position of the actuator sensed by the sensor system does not correspond to a predefined or definable setpoint position or does not fall within in a predefined or definable tolerance range around the setpoint position; wherein the motor-operated drive is located within a drive housing, wherein an output shaft is coupled to the motor-operated drive and extends from a first side of the drive housing, wherein the actuator is coupled to be driven by the output shaft; wherein the sensor system comprises a Hall sensor element mounted on an outer surface of the first side of the drive housing and positioned alongside the output shaft to detect a rotational position of the output shaft and thus the real actual position of the actuator coupled to the output shaft.
2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a control apparatus is provided for actuating the motor-operated drive according to a command which has been defined previously or input manually via an interface and corresponds to the setpoint position of the actuator, wherein the control apparatus is designed to compare the actual position of the actuator, sensed by the sensor system, with the setpoint position and to actuate the motor-operated drive in such a way that the actual position corresponds to the setpoint position or falls within the tolerance range about the setpoint position.
3 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus for performing functional monitoring is assigned an interface for optically and/or acoustically outputting a status message and/or warning message.
4 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus for performing functional monitoring is designed to detect, with the aid of the sensor system, a manually effected adjustment of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent.
5 . The device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein a control apparatus is provided for actuating the motor-operated drive according to a command which has been defined previously or input manually via an interface and corresponds to the setpoint position of the actuator, wherein the control apparatus is designed to initiate automatically predefined or definable measures on the basis of the detection of a manual adjustment of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent, and to actuate the motor-operated drive in such a way: that the actuator is reset into the setpoint position, either immediately or after a predefined or definable time period; or that the actuator is not reset into the setpoint position, with the result that the manual adjustment of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent is accepted by the control apparatus, wherein the deactivation of automatic resetting of the actuator into the setpoint position applies until the deactivation of this function is cancelled by activating an operator control element.
6 . The device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the control apparatus is designed to learn, in an initial learning process, the setpoint position of the actuator and/or the actuation of the motor-operated drive, which is necessary to reset the actuator into the setpoint position, by means of the detection, brought about with the aid of the sensor system, of a manually effected adjustment of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent.
7 . The device as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the apparatus is designed to perform functional monitoring of the motor-operated drive, to sense a manual movement of the motor-operated drive which is brought about during manual adjustment of the actuator, by sensing a voltage induced by the motor-operated drive, during a manual movement of said drive, or by sensing a corresponding current, and wherein the apparatus for performing functional monitoring of the motor-operated drive is also designed to determine an actual position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent on the basis of the voltage induced by the motor-operated drive, during a manual movement of said drive, and sensed by the apparatus for performing functional monitoring, or on the basis of the corresponding current.
8 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the Hall sensor element has at least two Hall elements each with a measuring direction which is perpendicular to the other, wherein the at least two Hall elements are positioned together or individually.
9 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the Hall sensor element has at least two Hall elements each with a measuring direction which is perpendicular to the other, wherein the at least two Hall elements are positioned together or individually, and wherein the at least two Hall elements are designed to detect a magnet with respective North and South poles, wherein the magnet is located on or in the output shaft or surrounds the output shaft as an annular magnet, with the result that any position of the output shaft can be recorded as an absolute value on the basis of the values acquired with the at least two Hall elements.
10 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the motor-operated drive has a stepping motor, in the form of an electronically commutating electric motor, wherein the Hall sensor element is configured as an absolute value sensor that is connected to a control apparatus to determine a rotor position of the stepping motor from the absolute value information of the absolute value sensor.
11 . A ventilation system having at least one air vent, to which a device for manipulating an actuator, in the form of an air-directing element, is assigned, wherein the device for manipulating the actuator is a device as claimed in claim 1 .
12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the actuator, in the form of the throttle valve or closure flap, is mounted on an air vent housing such that the actuator, in the form of the throttle valve or closure flap, is movable relative to the air vent housing.
13 . A method for manipulating an actuator, in the form of a throttle valve or closure flap, of an air vent, wherein the actuator is designed as an air-directing element or as part of a package of air-directing elements, and wherein the method comprises the following method steps: i) outputting a command for activating or starting a motor-operated drive, which is or can be mechanically coupled to the actuator in such a way that the actuator can be adjusted relative to the housing of the air vent by activating the motor-operated drive, and direct sensing of a real actual position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent with the aid of a sensor system, wherein the motor-operated drive is located within a drive housing, wherein an output shaft is coupled to the motor-operated drive and extends from a first side of the drive housing, wherein the actuator is coupled to be driven by the output shaft, wherein the sensor system comprises a Hall sensor element mounted on an outer portion of the first side of the drive housing and positioned alongside the output shaft to detect a rotational position of the output shaft and thus the real actual position of the actuator coupled to the output shaft; ii) interrogating a setpoint position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent from a memory device which is assigned to the control apparatus; and iii) comparing the sensed actual position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent with the interrogated setpoint position of the actuator relative to the housing of the air vent, wherein, in that in step iii) a number of possibly still necessary motor steps of the motor-operated drive is calculated on the basis of the result of the comparison of the sensed actual position of the actuator with the interrogated setpoint position of the actuator, in order to make the actual position of the actuator correspond to the setpoint position of the actuator, or correspond at least substantially thereto, wherein the calculated number of possibly still necessary motor steps is subsequently output as a signal to the motor-operated drive, in order to manipulate the actuator correspondingly.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the actuator, in the form of the throttle valve or closure flap, is mounted on an air vent housing such that the actuator, in the form of the throttle valve or closure flap, is movable relative to the air vent housing.
15 . A device for manipulating first and second actuators, each in the form of a throttle valve or closure flap, of an air vent, wherein the device comprises: a motor-operated drive, which is or can be coupled mechanically to each of the first actuator and the second actuator in such a way that each of the first actuator and the second actuator can be adjusted relative to a housing of the air vent by activating the motor-operated drive; and a sensor system for sensing a real actual position of each of the first actuator and the second actuator relative to the housing of the air vent; and an apparatus for performing functional monitoring of the motor-operated drive, which apparatus is configured to interrupt actuation of the motor-operated drive or to cancel actuation of the motor-operated drive or to act on actuation of the motor-operated drive if the actual position of the first actuator or the second actuator sensed by the sensor system does not correspond to a predefined or definable setpoint position or does not fall within in a predefined or definable tolerance range around the setpoint position; wherein the motor-operated drive is located within a drive housing, wherein a first output shaft is coupled to the motor-operated drive and extends through a first side of the drive housing, wherein the first actuator is coupled to be driven by the first output shaft, wherein a second output shaft is coupled to the motor-operated drive and extends through a second side of the drive housing, wherein the second actuator is coupled to be driven by the second output shaft wherein the sensor system comprises (i) a first Hall sensor element mounted on an outer surface of the first side of the drive housing and positioned alongside the first output shaft to detect a rotational position of the first output shaft and thus the real actual position of the first actuator and (ii) a second Hall sensor element mounted on an outer surface of the second side of the drive housing and positioned alongside the second output shaft to detect a rotational position of the second output shaft and thus the real actual position of the second actuator.
16 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein: the first Hall sensor element has at least two Hall elements each with a measuring direction which is perpendicular to the other; and the second Hall sensor element has at least two Hall elements each with a measuring direction which is perpendicular to the other.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a device for manipulating an actuator, designed in particular in the form of a throttle valve or closure flap, of an air vent, wherein the actuator is optionally designed as an air-directing element or as part of a package of air-directing elements. The air vent is in particular part of a ventilation system for a vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a ventilation system having such an air vent. BACKGROUND The air vents typically used in ventilation devices for vehicles are air vents or air outlet nozzles that enable the exiting air stream to be controlled in a targeted manner. Such air vents are used in order to supply fresh air in particular into a vehicle interior. The air stream flows through an inlet opening of the air vent into an air duct which is delimited by the housing wall of the air vent, through said air duct, and ultimately through the outlet opening of the air vent into the interior of a vehicle (for example a car or truck). The amount of air entering the interior of the vehicle via the air vent per unit of time can generally be controlled via an actuator, which is for example designed as a throttle valve or closure flap and is provided to be adjustable. Optionally, the actuator can also be designed as an air-directing element or as part of a package of air-directing elements. Typically, such actuators (ventilator, closure, or throttle flaps) are individually adjusted by hand. Here, it is possible not only to distribute the airflow entering the interior of the vehicle onto the footwell, onto the average height within the vehicle, or onto the windshield for defrosting; rather, such actuators are often also adjustable in order to be able to change, for the purposes of temperature control, the proportion of fresh air flowing in or air cooled by a cooling unit and the amount of ambient air. A trend in air vent technology can be seen in the fact that air vents are increasingly meant to be activated not only manually, but rather additionally or exclusively motor-operated. For this purpose, it is generally known that a motor, in particular an electromotive drive, is associated with the device for manipulating the actuator of an air vent, which motor is or can be coupled mechanically to the actuator in such a way that, by activation of the motor-operated drive, the actuator can be adjusted relative to the housing of the air vent. In such motor-manipulable actuators for air vents, there is a fundamental need to be able to detect the position of the actuator actually set by the motor-operated drive. For this purpose, embodiments from the prior art are known in which a stepping motor is used as an electromotive drive, wherein an electronics associated with the stepping motor is designed in order to generate electrical pulses for each predefined rotation angle of the rotor of the stepping motor that is traveled. With the aid of an evaluation apparatus, a rotor position of the stepping motor determined from the electrical pulses generated by the electronics and, indirectly, a position of the actuator are then calculated. The disadvantage of these known solutions is that not all of the problems of actuators of an air vent that can be manipulated with a motor-operated drive can be considered. Specifically, air vents can be manually adjusted by the user, i.e., by hand, as is customary. If this is the case, the gear mechanism connecting the electromotive drive to the actuator and the electromotive drive are moved without an electrical signal. Thus, the initial output position of the actuator can no longer be determined during a subsequent electrical activation of the motor-operated drive, and the setting of the actuator of the air vent can no longer occur as intended. An automatic adjustment of the actuator of the air vent with the aid of the electromotive drive can thus no longer achieve the set target and largely loses its function. Another problem that is not considered in the known solutions for electromotive manipulation of the actuator of an air vent can be seen in the fact that the movement of the kinematic parts in an air vent can be inhibited or completely blocked by foreign bodies. For example, this can be mobile phone holders or aerators that can be clipped into the blades of an air vent. If stepping motors are used for the actuation in this case, the electric field of the stepping motor rotates, but the runner or rotor of the stepping motor is not carried along. However, because the electric field is moving, the electronics counts the steps that the stepping motor is supposed to have taken. In this scenario, too, the absolute position of the motor is lost, and the automatic setting function cannot achieve the goal and also largely loses its function. Worm gear mechanisms could theoretically address this problem. Worm gear mechanisms block a manual adjustment through self-inhibition when they are to be driven from the pinion side, which cons