CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AN ELECTROMOTIVE ADJUSTING DRIVE OF AN ITEM OF FURNITURE

Abstract

A control system for controlling an adjusting drive for an item of furniture includes a control device connected to the adjusting drive, and a first operating unit. The control device is configured to receive signals from the first operating unit transmitted wirelessly via a transmission unit over a first transmission link, and to control the adjusting drive as a function of the signals received. The control device is also configured to receive further signals from a second operating unit transmitted wirelessly via the transmission unit over a second transmission link and to control the adjusting drive as a function of the further signals received. The second transmission link differs from the first transmission link.

Claims

1.-8. (canceled)

9. A control system for controlling an adjusting drive for a piece of furniture, said control system comprising: a first operating unit; a second operating unit; a transmission unit; and a control device connected to the adjusting drive, said control device configured to receive a signal from the first operating unit wirelessly via the transmission unit over a first transmission link and to control the adjusting drive as a function of the received signal, said control device further configured to receive a further signal from the second operating unit wirelessly via the transmission unit over a second transmission link and to control the adjusting drive as a function of the received further signal, with the second transmission link differing from the first transmission link.

10. The control system of claim 9, wherein the transmission unit comprises a shared antenna for the first and second transmission links.

11. The control system of claim 9, wherein the first and second transmission links use a same ISM frequency band.

12. The control system of claim 9, wherein the first and second transmission links use different frequency channels of a same frequency band.

13. The control system of claim 9, wherein the first and second transmission links have different protocols.

14. The control system of claim 13, wherein at least one of the protocols is a Bluetooth protocol.

15. A control device for controlling an adjusting drive for a piece of furniture, said control device comprising: an antenna; and a transmission unit configured to receive wirelessly a signal transmitted from an operating unit for controlling the adjusting drive, said transmission unit comprising a transmitting and receiving module connected to the antenna and configured for coupling simultaneously to two different transmission links.

16. The control device of claim 15, wherein the transmitting and receiving module is configured as a system-on-chip.

Description

[0019] The invention is explained in more detail below by reference to a FIGURE.

[0020] The only FIGURE shows a block diagram of a control system of an electromotive furniture drive with two adjusting drives.

[0021] The control system shown in the FIGURE can be used, for example, in a piece of seating or reclining furniture, e.g. an armchair or a bed, which is equipped with adjusting drives.

[0022] The control system comprises a control device 10, to which two adjusting drives 15 are electrically connected by way of example. The adjusting drives 15 are designed as individual drives, i.e. each of the shown adjusting drives 15 is usually coupled within the furniture to a movable furniture part for its adjustment. Instead of the individual adjusting drives 15 shown, it is also possible to use a so-called double adjusting drive, which integrates two adjusting drives in one housing.

[0023] In principle, every furniture drive is designed to be able to adjust the connected furniture components relative to each other. In principle, every furniture drive has at least one gear train, wherein an abating gear stage can be designed as a linear gear in the manner of a threaded spindle-nut gear. The linear gear can be preceded by a rotary gear, e.g. in the form of a worm gear, which is coupled on the input side to an electric motor.

[0024] Another component of the control system is at least one operating unit, via which a user of the system can control the adjustment of the furniture parts via the adjusting drives 15.

[0025] In the illustrated embodiment example, two operating units 20, 30 are provided, i.e. a (proprietary) operating unit 20 and a further operating unit 30, which is formed by a mobile device, in this example a smartphone, which has a corresponding program (“App”) in order to provide the necessary functionality.

[0026] The proprietary operating unit 20 has a plurality of control elements 21, which are buttons in this case. When one of the control elements 21 is actuated, a corresponding signal is emitted via a transmission link 22 in the direction of the control device 10. The other operating unit 30 has a touchscreen 31 for operation, which can be used to receive inputs from the user. In response to these inputs, a corresponding signal is also transmitted to the control device 10 via a further transmission link 32.

[0027] In the example shown, control device 10 comprises a power supply unit 11 for supplying power to control device 10 and also to the adjusting drives 15. The power supply unit 11 is in turn supplied with operating current via a power cable 12. In an alternative configuration, power can also be supplied via an external power supply unit.

[0028] Furthermore, a control unit 13 is arranged in the control device 10, which controls the electric motors contained in the adjusting drives 15 and, optionally, also evaluates limit switches arranged in the adjusting drives 15. For this purpose, adjusting drives 15 are connected via cables to adjusting drive connections 14 of control device 10. Signal lines can also be provided within the connections between the adjusting drives 15 and the control unit 13 via which a position of an output element of the adjusting drive 15 is transmitted to the control unit 13 in order to take this position signal into account when actuating the adjusting drives 15.

[0029] Furthermore, the control device 10 has a transmission unit 16 which is coupled to the control unit 13. The transmission unit 16 comprises a transmitting and receiving module 17 which is coupled to an antenna 18. The antenna 18 and the transmitting and receiving module 17 receive control signals from the operating units 20, 30, which are then forwarded in the form of control commands to the control unit 13 for actuating the adjusting drives 15.

[0030] According to the application, the transmission unit 16 is adapted to receive and evaluate signals (quasi) simultaneously from the operating units 20, 30. Both transmission links 22, 32 operate in the same frequency band, so that the signals transmitted via both transmission links 22, 32 can be received or transmitted by one antenna 18. The transmitting and receiving module 17 is also preferably able to serve both transmission links. A single transmitting and receiving module 17 is then sufficient to use both transmission links 22, 32.

[0031] Both transmission links 22, 32 are usually formed bi-directional in order to be able to carry out a protocol based on a handshake procedure. The bi-directional design of the transmission links 22, 32 also allows information to be transmitted from the control device 10 to the operating unit 20, 30, for example to display status messages from the control device 10 and/or the adjusting drives 15 to the operating unit 20, 30. This is of particular interest in connection with the additional operating unit 30, as information can be easily displayed on the touchscreen 31.

[0032] Even when using the same frequency band, for example the 2.4 GHz band through transmission links 22, 32, the signals of the different transmission links 22, 32 can be distinguished by using different channels within the same frequency band. Furthermore, the different transmission links 22, 32 can use different protocols. In one embodiment, for example, the proprietary operating unit 20 uses a proprietary protocol, whereas the other operating unit uses a standardized protocol, in particular a low-energy Bluetooth protocol. During initialization, the low-energy Bluetooth protocol couples the devices, i.e. the additional operating unit 30 and the control device 10. This coupling is subsequently (logically) maintained, even if signals are seldom and/or irregularly exchanged between the units involved. The resulting time gaps can be used to exchange signals between the proprietary operating unit 20 and the transmission unit 16.

[0033] Since the amount of information or data required to control the adjusting drives 15 is very small compared to the bandwidth of the transmission links 22, 32, the transmission links 22, 32 are only used to a very limited extent. Correspondingly, the probability that signals from transmission links 22 and 32 collide is very low. As a rule, collision protection mechanisms are also provided in the protocols used which, in the event of a collision, lead to a repetition of the data transmission with a randomly selected delay time, so that a further collision in the repeat attempt is practically impossible.

[0034] In order to enable a simple design of the control device, the transmitter and receiver module is advantageously designed as a SoC, i.e. a system in which different components are integrated on a single chip. In the case of the transmitting and receiving module these components include, for example, the analog high-frequency components as well as a microcontroller for signal evaluation.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0035] 10 Control device [0036] 11 Power supply [0037] 12 Power cords [0038] 13 Control unit [0039] 14 Adjusting drive connection [0040] 15 Adjusting drive [0041] 16 Transmission unit [0042] 17 Transmitting and receiving module [0043] 18 Antenna [0044] 20 Operating unit [0045] 21 Control element [0046] 22 Transmission link [0047] 30 Additional operating unit [0048] 31 Touchscreen [0049] 32 Further transmission link