阅读说明：本技术 座椅调节开关 (Seat regulating switch ) 是由 安德烈·费林 休伯特·希利 凯·布伦塞尔 于 2020-03-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明描述了一种座椅调节开关,所述座椅调节开关具有多个可通过感应栓杆(2)操作,并设置在公共支撑板(4)上的多路力传感器(1),其中至少一个按钮罩(3)作为操作元件与感应栓杆(2)连接,其中感应栓杆通过接收套筒(5)连接,该接收套筒与支撑板设计为一体,并通过柔性区域(6)与支撑板的其他部分连接,其中至少一个与感应栓杆(2)连接的按钮罩(3)与接收套筒(5)形成形状接合连接。(The invention relates to a seat adjustment switch having a plurality of multi-path force sensors (1) which can be actuated by an actuating pin (2) and are arranged on a common support plate (4), wherein at least one button cover (3) is connected as an actuating element to the actuating pin (2), wherein the actuating pin is connected via a receiving sleeve (5) which is designed as one piece with the support plate and is connected via a flexible region (6) to the rest of the support plate, wherein at least one button cover (3) connected to the actuating pin (2) is connected in a form-fitting manner to the receiving sleeve (5).)

1. A seat adjustment switch having a plurality of multi-way force sensors (1) operated by an inductive bolt (2) and arranged on a common support plate (4),

wherein at least one button cover (3) is connected as an operating element to the sensor pin (2),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the induction bolt (2) passing through a receiving sleeve (5), the receiving sleeve (5) being made in one piece with the support plate (4) and connected to the rest of the support plate (4) by a flexible zone (6), and

at least one of the button covers (3) connected to the sensor pin (2) is connected to the receiving sleeve (5) in a form-fitting manner.

2. The seat adjustment switch according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible region (6) is constituted by a weakened annular region of the support plate (4) surrounding the receiving sleeve (5).

3. Seat adjusting switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible region (6) is made in the shape of a bellows.

4. Seat adjustment switch according to claim 1, characterized in that the multiplex force sensors (1) each have an induction plate (7) and one induction peg (2) projecting perpendicularly from the induction plate (7), both made of metal.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a seat adjustment switch having a plurality of multi-way force sensors which are actuated by an actuating pin and are arranged on a common support plate, wherein at least one button cover is connected as an actuating element to the actuating pin.

Background

The seat adjustment switch typically has a plurality of switch elements that can be used to control various functions. At least one of these switching elements is usually formed in the form of a stylized seat contour. The seat profile may be designed as discrete blocks or as a whole. The stylized seat profile may be used to control at least some of the functional head restraint up/down and forward/rearward, the seat back forward/rearward, and the seat cushion front up/down, rear up/down, and forward/rearward.

Modern seat adjustment switches preferably use force sensors with one or more switch thresholds, as compared to seat adjustment switches that have been common in the past. Force sensors are typically designed to be mechanically very robust.

A generic seat adjustment switch with a force sensor system is known from german patent application DE 102015014878 a 1. This document describes in particular an operating device for adjusting a motor vehicle seat. The switch cover is arranged on the base body of the operating device, said switch cover rotating about at least one axis of rotation and translating in at least one direction. At least one detecting device detects the displacement of the switch cover by determining the magnitude and direction of the operating force acting on the switch cover. According to the operating force, the seat of the vehicle is adjustable.

A simple and advantageous embodiment of a detection device in the form of a capacitive multi-way force sensor is known from german patent application DE 102014014021 a1, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present document.

The multi-way force sensor described in DE 102014014021 a1 has a lever in the form of a bolt, which is rigidly connected to the upper part of the housing. Inside the housing, the operating rod is connected to a metal or metallized plate. When the lever is rotated, the plates simultaneously rotate relative to the metal or metalized surface on the circuit board, thereby causing the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the arrangement of the plates and the surface to vary as the lever is rotated. Since the upper part of the housing must be elastically deformed at the same time to rotate the operating lever, the multi-path force sensor is rather rigid and very suitable for application to a seat adjustment switch. In order to achieve a particularly robust design, both the operating lever and the upper part of the housing can be made of metal.

To implement the seat adjustment switch, the switch cover, i.e. the operating element operated by the user, has to be connected to at least one multiplex force sensor.

A disadvantage is that, in particular in the case of multiplex force sensors made of metal, expensive post-processing is required to achieve a suitable shape for the connection button cover, such as a spring clip, a guide surface or an undercut. Typically, the geometry used here is produced by a simple turning process or by a rolling process. Milling processes are also occasionally used. The metal studs of the multi-way force sensor have a knurled, saw-toothed profile or a mating spring.

The establishment of the positive engagement is usually only possible under certain conditions, so that the fastening of the button cover is usually frictional. It was found that the connections created in this way do not generally meet the requirements of tensile and torsional forces in all tolerance positions and temperature ranges.

Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the invention is to create a universal seat adjustment switch which allows a particularly stable connection of the push button cover to the sensor bar in a particularly simple and cost-effective manner.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by: the sensing pin passes through a receiving sleeve which is made in one piece with the support plate and is connected to the rest of the support plate by a flexible zone, and a button cover connected to at least one of the sensing pins is in form-engagement with the receiving sleeve.

Drawings

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be shown and explained below with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings:

figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a seat adjustment switch,

FIG. 2 shows the support plate in a separate illustration, and

fig. 3 shows the sensor element in a separate illustration.

Fig. 1 shows a section of an assembled seat adjustment switch along a multiplex force sensor 1 with an additional button cover 3.

Detailed Description

The multiplex force sensor 1 functions according to the capacitive measuring principle and consists of a metallic sensor element 9 arranged on a carrier plate 4 and a printed circuit board 8 on which conductor structures (not shown here) are obtained.

Sensor element the sensor element 9, which is shown as a single part in fig. 3, has a substantially cylindrical sensing pin 2. A metal or metallised sensing plate 7 is attached to the lower end of the sensing bolt 2, which rotates as the sensing bolt 2 rotates about its longitudinal axis.

This changes the position of the sensor board 7 relative to the conductor structures arranged on the printed circuit board 8. Sensing plate 7 forms a capacitor with the individual conductor structures, the capacitance of which changes as sensing plate 7 rotates. The change in capacitance can be evaluated by electronics (also not shown here) to determine the change in position of sensing plate 7 and thus the operating force acting on sensing bar 2. Rotation of the sensing bar 2 is achieved by the attached button cover 3.

The seat adjustment switch here has, for example, a total of five such multi-way force sensors 1, which can be connected to a plurality of individual pushbutton covers 3 or to a common pushbutton cover 3.

A support plate 4 is provided for arranging and fixing the sensor element 9 and for achieving a stable coupling between the at least one button cover 3 and the metal sensor pin 2 of the sensor element 9.

The support plate 4 is shown in fig. 2 as a single component. The support plate 4, which is shown here as a single component, can also optionally be integrated into an existing housing.

The support plate 4 shown in fig. 2 is designed as a flat plate injection-molded from plastic, on which a plurality of receiving sleeves 5, here five depending on the number of sensors provided, are integrally formed. The longitudinal axis of the receiving sleeve 5 is aligned perpendicularly to the plate plane. A plurality of screwing openings 11 around the receiving sleeve 5 are identifiable. A centering pin 12 is also arranged around the receiving sleeve 5, projecting perpendicularly from the underside of the support plate 4.

A single sensing element 9 is shown in fig. 3. The sensor element 9 is formed by a metal plate, which is originally square or rectangular, from which a strip-shaped screw connection plate 13 and a centering arm 15 are cut in the direction of the diagonal of the plate. The ends of these screwing lugs 13 and centering arms 15 are configured as screwing eyelets 14 and centering eyelets 16. The centering eye 16 is designed as a combination of a long hole and a hole in order to center the sensor element 9 on the support plate 4.

The part of the metal plate that is integrally connected to the screwing web 13 and the centering arm 15 is thus configured as an approximately clover-shaped induction plate 7, to the center of which the vertically protruding cylindrical induction bolt 2 is firmly connected.

After assembly of the seat adjustment switch, a plurality of sensor elements 9 are arranged on the underside of the support plate 4 shown in fig. 2, wherein their sensor pin 2 is inserted into the receiving sleeve 5 and a screwing lug 13 with a screwing eyelet 14 is connected by means of a screw to the screwing opening 11 in the support plate 4. For precise positioning, a centering pin 12 arranged on the underside of the support plate 4 is inserted into a centering eye 16 of the sensor element 9.

As can be seen from fig. 1, the sensing pins 2 of the multiplex force sensor 1 each pass through a receiving sleeve 5, so that the receiving sleeves 5 each concentrically surround a partial length of the sensing pins 2.

In order to enable the rotation of the sensing bolt 2, the support plate 4 forms a circumferential flexible zone 6 around each receiving sleeve 5, which has the shape of a meander or bellows, while the wall thickness is greatly reduced. Furthermore, this embodiment has the advantage of protecting the multiplex force sensor 1 from moisture and dust, since the circumferential flexible regions 6 between the receiving sleeve 5 and the other regions of the support plate 4 each form a closed surface.

An advantage in the manufacture of the support plate 4 is that, due to the large area connection of these thinned flexible regions 6, sufficient cross-section is still provided to fill the inner region of the receiving sleeve 5 during injection molding, without the need to reserve a separate injection point.

It can also be seen in fig. 1 that the free end section of the sensor pin 2 is inserted into the button cap 3 and is surrounded by an inner wall formed in the button cap 3. The outer wall of the button cover 3 is inserted into the upper expanded portion of the receiving sleeve 5.

For this purpose, the receiving sleeve 5 is designed such that it forms a form-fitting connection with the at least one button cover 3 and is able to receive tensile forces and torques applied to the button cover 3. To establish the positive fit, the receiving sleeve 5 can have a recess 10 shaped, for example, as shown in fig. 2. In these grooves 10, a rib molded on the button cover 3 may be used.

On the one hand, since there is a form-fitting connection between the at least one button cover 3 and the receiving sleeve 5 and the sensing pin 2 is enclosed by the receiving sleeve 5 and the at least one button cover 3, respectively, no additional frictional or form-fitting connection between the sensing pin 2 and the at least one button cover 3 is required.

The sensor pins 2, as shown particularly clearly in fig. 3, can therefore each be designed as simple cylindrical metal pins. Thus, a complicated reworking for forming the connecting structure at the end of the induction bar 2 can advantageously be saved.

List of reference numerals

1 multipath force sensor

2 Induction bolt

3 button cover

4 support plate

5 receiving sleeve

6 flexible region

7 induction plate

8 printed circuit board

9 sensing element

10 groove

11 screw opening

12 centering pin

13 connecting plate for screwing

14 screwing eyelet

15 centering arm

16 centering hole