TUBULAR DRIVE APPARATUS

Abstract

Tubular drive apparatus for a panel of a vehicle, preferably a tailgate or door, comprising two tubes which are inserted into one another in a telescopic manner, the free ends of which are each hinged to the panel of the vehicle and to the vehicle itself, the tubes being capable of being separated from one another and brought together by means of a spindle which is driven by an electric motor and comprises a spindle nut arranged thereon, in order to thus open and close the panel, the electric motor, the spindle, the spindle nut and an electronic circuit board comprising sensor elements being arranged within the tubular drive apparatus, and a power electronics unit for actuating the electric motor also being arranged on the electronic circuit board.

Claims

1. Tubular drive apparatus for a panel of a vehicle, preferably a rear cover, a tailgate or a door, comprising two tubes which are inserted into one another in a telescopic manner, the free ends of which are each hinged to the panel of the vehicle and to the vehicle itself, the tubes being capable of being separated from one another and brought together by a spindle which is driven by an electric motor and comprises a spindle nut arranged thereon, in order to thus open and close the panel, the electric motor, the spindle, the spindle nut and an electronic circuit board comprising sensor elements being arranged within the tubular drive apparatus, wherein a power electronics unit for actuating the electric motor is also arranged on the electronic circuit board.

2. Drive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit board is arranged on the electric motor between the electric motor and the free end of the tube supporting the electric motor.

3. Drive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit board is in the shape of a disc and is arranged perpendicularly to the axis of symmetry of the tubes.

4. Drive apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electronic circuit board also comprises a temperature sensor.

5. Drive apparatus according to, claim 1, wherein the housing tube includes a material exhibiting high electrical conductivity.

6. Drive apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the housing tube is made of a magnetically soft material.

Description

[0009] Furthermore, it is particularly preferable for the electronic circuit board to comprise a temperature sensor. Since the circuit board can be arranged so close to the motor, any overheating of the motor can be detected by simply measuring the temperature on the circuit. Appropriate protective measures can then be taken by the control software of the power electronics unit, such as lowering the drive current or switching off the motor. In the following, the present invention will be explained in greater detail on the basis of the embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of a drive apparatus according to the invention, together with an enlarged detail of the electronic circuit board; and

[0011] FIG. 2 is a cross section through the drive apparatus according to the invention from FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of the drive apparatus 1 according to the invention having the dimensions and also essentially the appearance of a classic gas spring for supporting a tailgate. The drive apparatus 1 shown has a housing tube 10 on which an overtube 20 is guided in a telescopically slidable manner.

[0013] Ball sockets 30, 40 are arranged at each of the two free ends of the tubes 10 and 20 which are inserted into one another, by means of which sockets the drive apparatus can be connected for example to the tailgate and the body of a motor vehicle in the same way as this occurs using gas springs.

[0014] FIG. 2 shows the structure of the drive apparatus according to the invention in detail. A bearing 50 is rigidly installed in an end region of the housing tube 10 which faces the overtube 20, on which bearing one end of a threaded spindle 60 which protrudes coaxially into the overtube 20 is rotatably mounted. A spindle nut 70 is arranged on the threaded spindle 60 so as to be rotationally fixed relative to the housing tube 10.

[0015] The spindle nut 70 is connected to one end of a spindle tube 80 coaxially surrounding the threaded spindle 60, on the other end of which spindle tube the first ball socket 30 is rigidly arranged.

[0016] The spindle nut 70 is axially slidably guided in a guide tube 90 which surrounds the spindle tube 80 and is rigidly connected to the housing tube 10. A helical compression spring 10 is arranged in the annular gap between the guide tube 90 and the overtube 20 which coaxially surrounds said guide tube at a radial distance, one end of which spring is axially supported on the overtube 2 in the region of the first ball socket 30, and the other end of which is axially supported on the housing tube 10. The threaded spindle 60 supports a guide sleeve 110 at the end thereof which faces the first ball socket 30, by means of the cylindrical lateral surface of which guide sleeve the threaded spindle 60 is axially slidably guided in the spindle tube 80. The guide tube 90 has axial slots which extend largely over the length thereof. Radially projecting support pins are arranged on the spindle nut 70 in accordance with the axial slots, which pins extend radially into the axial slots and ensure that the spindle nut 70 cannot rotate relative to the guide tube 90.

[0017] The threaded spindle 60 is axially supported above the bearing 50.

[0018] A drive shaft 14 of a gear mechanism 15 is coaxially rotationally fixed to the threaded spindle 60, the gear mechanism 15 being capable of being rotatably driven by an additional drive shaft 17 of an electric motor 16.

[0019] The additional drive shaft 17 also protrudes out from the electric motor 16 on the side facing away from the gear mechanism 15 and has a permanent magnet 18 on the free end thereof, which magnet is axially opposed to an electronic circuit board 200 which comprises Hall elements 19 and is arranged in a stationary manner. The second ball socket 40 is connected to the housing tube 10 by means of a cap 24.

[0020] As shown in the detailed view in FIG. 1, the substantially disc-shaped electronic circuit board 200, which, as shown in FIG. 2, is arranged in the drive apparatus 1 so as to be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tubes 10 and 20, not only has the Hall elements 19, but also has the circuit breakers 210 and the electronic circuits 220 which are required in order to actuate these circuit breakers 210, in which circuits the computer programs for controlling the circuit breakers are also stored.

[0021] In this manner, the present invention achieves optimal protection against the interference frequencies from the pulse width modulation and a minimal drop in voltage between the power electronics unit and the electric motor, using the same overall length as the original drive apparatuses.

[0022] Preferably, the electronic circuit board 200 can also comprise a temperature sensor 230, which is optimally arranged using the arrangement of the electronic circuit board according to the invention, in order to monitor the operating temperature of the electric motor 16.