Electromagnetic actuating apparatus

Abstract

An electromagnetic actuating apparatus having an armature unit (14) which can move along an axial direction (10) in response to current applied to a stationary coil unit and designed to interact with an actuating partner, wherein the coil unit has a winding (22) with which a connection contact (26) can make contact. The coil unit is accommodated in a housing (12) which surrounds the coil unit at least in sections. The coil unit has an electrical connection for connecting the connection contact to a plug section (18, 20) on the housing. The connection contact (26), together with a flat end section (30) of the electrical connection, which is oriented parallel to the connection contact and is permanently connected to the connection contact, extends at least in sections parallel to the axial direction (10) or is angled out of a position of extent in this direction after connection, wherein the housing end region is axially opposite a housing outlet for the armature unit (14).

Claims

1. An electromagnetic actuating apparatus having an armature unit (14) which can move along an axial direction (10) in response to current being applied to a stationary coil unit and which is designed to interact with an actuating partner, wherein the coil unit has a winding (22) which is provided on a coil former (20) and with which a connection contact (26) can make contact, and said coil unit is accommodated in a housing (12) which surrounds the coil unit at least in sections, and which has associated electrical connecting means for connecting the connection contact (26) to a plug section (18) which is provided on the housing, wherein the connection contact (26), together with a flat end section (30), which is oriented parallel to said connection contact (26) and is designed to be permanently connected to the connection contact (26) or is permanently connected to the connection contact (26), of the electrical connecting means, extends at least in sections in a direction parallel to the axial direction (10) on or in a housing end region (16) or is angled out of a position of extent of this kind after connection, wherein the housing end region is axially opposite a housing outlet for the armature unit (14), and wherein the connection contact and/or the flat end section has a bend relief region (40), outside a site of connection of the connection contact to the flat end section, which permits an angling of the permanent connection.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection contact 26 and/or the flat end section (30) of the connecting means is a metal stamped part.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a permanent connection in the form of a welded- or soldered connection (34) between end faces, directed to one another, of the connection contact (26) and the flat end section (30).

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the permanent connection has a weld projection (34) between the end faces, directed to one another, of the connection contact and the flat end section.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the angling of the permanent connection is an angling of the connection by up to 100°.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection contact (26) for permanent connecting with the end section (30), oriented thereto and extending parallel thereto, emerges at least in a non-angled state out from the end region (16) of the housing or is exposed in the end region so that a welding device for the production of the permanent connection can engage from an engagement direction (36) running transversely to the axial direction.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a winding wire (24) of the coil unit is electrically and mechanically connected to the connection contact (26) so that neither permanently connecting with the end section of the connecting means nor angling, subsequent thereto, exerts a mechanical stress, on the winding wire.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a winding wire (24) of the coil unit is electrically and mechanically connected to the connection contact (26) so that neither permanently connecting with the end section of the connecting means nor angling, subsequent thereto, exerts a tensile stress, on the winding wire.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the winding (22) of the coil former has a section extending along the axial direction and coaxially to the armature unit, which is mechanically and/or electrically connected to the connection contact at an axial and/or radial end section (28).

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the coil unit has no connection contact extending on the casing side and/or radially.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection contact (26) and the flat end section (30) oriented thereto are provided in a radial edge region of the housing end region and are constructed so that an angling in a permanently connected state can take place with free ends in a direction of a radial centre of the end region.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing end region is constructed for closing and/or covering by a housing cover (42) which, in an angled state of the connection contact and the flat end section, is able to be applied onto housing end region.

13. A use of the electromagnetic actuating apparatus according to claim 1 in an engine compartment of a motor vehicle and/or as a unit or mounting of an internal combustion engine, for adjusting of a motor vehicle engine component as the actuating partner.

14. The use according to claim 13, wherein the motor vehicle engine component is a cam shaft.

15. The use according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of the electromagnetic actuating apparatuses is provided adjacent to one another for interacting with the same actuating partner.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages, features and details of the invention will emerge from the following description of preferred example embodiments and with the aid of the drawings:

(2) These show in:

(3) FIG. 1 a diagrammatic side view of the electromagnetic actuating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention, wherein in the region of the plug section a cut-out is opened from the housing wall for illustration purposes.

(4) FIG. 2 a longitudinal section detail view of the connection region between the connection contact of the coil winding and the flat end section of the connecting means before a welding operation and in the non-angled state;

(5) FIG. 3 a side view analogous to FIG. 2 and as an enlarged illustration of FIG. 1, wherein after a connecting, the connection partners are angled in the direction of the housing end region, and

(6) FIG. 4 a diagrammatic illustration, presented as a cut-out enlargement, of the connection region in a prior art which is to be drawn upon as generic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 illustrates in the diagrammatic side view the electromagnetic actuating apparatus according to a first preferred embodiment. An armature unit 14 (shown only with an end-side tappet section) is guided movably along the movement longitudinal axis 10 in a slightly conically widening housing 12 extending radially symmetrically about a symmetry- and movement longitudinal axis 10. The tappet unit is constructed with the shown end-side engagement section for interacting with an actuating partner schematically illustrated at 15. In the illustrated example embodiment, this actuating partner (not part of the invention) is an actuating groove of a device (not shown in any detail) for camshaft adjustment of an internal combustion engine for motor vehicle technology.

(8) Whilst the tappet end 14 of the armature unit emerges at one end on the face side out from the housing (having a plurality of sections extending along the longitudinal axis 10), on the opposite face side 16 a contact—or respectively plug section 18 is constructed, typically by injecting onto the face-side housing (consisting of a plastic material), wherein then in an otherwise known manner this plug section 18 cooperates with correspondingly adapted connection cables, not shown, for connection with control units connected upstream.

(9) In the interior of the housing 10, a coil unit is provided for moving the armature unit 14, which coil unit has a winding 22 formed on a coil former 20 and is held in a stationary manner in the housing 12. Housing sections shown by hatching in FIG. 2 are co-connected in the coil body 20 by injecting around or suchlike manufacturing methods suitable for mass production.

(10) The (at least one) winding 22 is realized by a winding wire 24 (FIG. 2), which is guided on the face side of the hollow-cylindrical coil former 20 and is connected permanently to a coil connection contact 26, which (flat and in the manner of a lug) is produced from a suitably stamped metal material and (again by injecting on or respectively around or respectively by shooting into an existing shaped body) projects from an end-side flange section 28 of the coil former 20 in the manner shown in FIG. 2. With the radially symmetrical configuration of the present example embodiment, the coil connection contact 26 thus extends parallel to the longitudinal axis 10 and projects rearward out from the face side 16, as FIG. 2 in the still unconnected (non-welded) state shows.

(11) In this assembly state, as FIG. 2 shows, a flat end section 30 of a metal connector, again executed as a stamped part, is associated with the coil connection contact 26, which connector (through a cable run not shown in closer detail) contacts an electrical connection contact 32 in the plug section 18.

(12) As illustrated by the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2, in the non-welded state the contacts 26, 30 stand opposite one another with their flat sides directed to one another and project rearwards out from the face side 16 of the housing 12; accordingly, in a subsequent connection step of these ends (a diagrammatic weld bead or respectively a weld projection 34 is shown here) by lateral (transversely- or respectively radially-running) engagement by means of a welding tongs or suchlike welding unit along the direction of the double arrow 36 a welding of the assemblies 26, 30 can take place, with the aim of producing a permanent, mechanically stable and electrically conducting connection.

(13) In contrast to the diagram illustrated for comparison in FIG. 4, it becomes clear that the critical step of welding (along arrow direction 36) for an efficient series production is distinctly simplified: In the prior art, which is drawn upon as being generic, in this respect the illustration of FIG. 4 corresponds approximately to the cut-out illustration in FIG. 2, namely both the coil connection contact 26′ and also the end section 30′ of the associated connecting means as connection partner extends in a horizontal direction on the casing side on the housing. Accordingly, the engagement for welding must take place here along the arrow direction 36′, which entails that, illustrated by the diagrammatic surface area 37 in FIG. 4, a corresponding space for this connection process has to be held available radially outwards. Accordingly, the critical radial diameter of the housing 12′ (for desired compact dimensions) increases, so that in particular the disadvantage described in the introduction arises that the apparatus according to FIG. 4 is not optimized with regard to compact cross-sectional dimensions and in this respect is only suitable to a limited extent for use in correspondingly cramped installation spaces. The further assemblies which can be seen in FIG. 4 correspond in this respect to FIGS. 1 to 3 and are provided with respect to their equivalence with analogous reference numbers or respectively with an added “′”.

(14) The example embodiment which is shown within the scope of the invention now makes it possible to deform the welded connection between the connection partner 26, 30, produced in FIG. 2 advantageously on the face side and hence without the requirement of a radial widening, by angling (bending or respectively folding down) in the direction of the rearward housing face side 16. The cut-out view of FIG. 3 shows a correspondingly deformed state, which in this respect corresponds to the cut-out III in FIG. 1: Bent over an inner housing shoulder 38 provided adjacent to the connection contact 26, a cross-sectionally rounded course is produced of the partners 26, 30 which are securely connected with one another, wherein in the example embodiment which is shown a bend relief region 40, provided on the assembly 30, constructed as a material allowance, facilitates this bending- or respectively folding-down process and in particular prevents the material of the end section 30 (as a flat stamped part) from cracking or being otherwise damaged through the folding-down.

(15) The possible end section of FIG. 3 thereby then also achieves compact dimensions of the housing in axial direction in the region of the rearward face side 16, wherein in a supplementary manner and additionally advantageously after the bending a rearward housing cover 42 can be put in place, with the advantage of creating protection against the penetrating of dirt or impairments at the place of use and of forming a complete, planar rear face of the housing.

(16) Thereby, a maximum circumferential dimension of the thus realized electromagnetic actuating apparatus (for instance at the maximum diameter of the housing section) reaches 12 m, a saving on diameter of approximately 10% compared with the prior art of FIG. 4, which enables new possibilities of use of the invention.

(17) The present invention is not restricted here to the practically shown example embodiment; neither is the practical flat form of realization of the contact partners necessary, nor must a folding down or respectively bending after completed connecting be carried out for instance in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 2 (or at all). The specialist in the art, in accordance with a respective usage requirement, will also configure other elements and assemblies of the invention in a respectively suitable manner.