OPERATING DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

The operating device (10) for a vehicle is provided with a housing (12) having a front wall (14). At least one operating element (18) is arranged on the front wall (14) and can be manually actuated starting from a rest position for the purpose of entering a command or activating a function. The operating element (18) is associated with a switch (32) having a switching member (36) on which the operating key acts during manual operation. Furthermore, a support element (24) is arranged in the housing (12) at a distance from the operating element (18), on which support element (24) the switch (32) associated with the operating element (18) is arranged, the support element (24) having a bending bar (40) with an upper side (42) facing the operating element (18) and a lower side (44) facing away from the upper side (42), and the switch (32) being arranged on the bending bar. Finally, the operating device (10) is provided with an adjustment member (46) acting on the bending bar (40) for adjusting the bending position of the bending bar (40) relative to the operating element (18) in its resting position and for maintaining and thus stabilizing the bending bar (40) in its adjusted bending position when the operating element (18) acts on the switching member (36). The adjustment member (46) comprises a threaded sleeve (54) with an internal thread (56) and a self-tapping adjustment screw (48) with a threaded shaft (50), wherein the internal thread (56) of the threaded sleeve (54) and the external thread (52) of the threaded shaft (50) of the self-tapping adjustment screw (48) have the same or substantially the same pitch.

Claims

1. An operating device for a vehicle, comprising a housing having a front wall, at least one operating element which can be manually actuated starting from a rest position for the purpose of entering a command or activating a function, a switch, which is assigned to the operating element having a switching member on which the operating element acts during manual operation, a support element arranged inside the housing with a distance to the operating element, wherein the support element comprises a bending bar with an upper side facing the operating element and a lower side facing away from the upper side, wherein the switch assigned to the operating element is arranged on the bending bar, and an adjustment member acting on the bending bar for adjusting the bending position of the bending bar relative to the operating elements in its resting position and for maintaining and thus stabilizing the bending bar in its adjusted bending position when the operating element acts on the switching member, wherein the adjustment member comprises a threaded sleeve with an internal thread and an adjustment screw with a threaded shaft in the form of a self-tapping screw, wherein the internal thread of the threaded sleeveand the external thread of the threaded shaft of the adjustment screw have the same or substantially the same pitch.

2. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the threaded sleeve is arranged on and/or in a reference element positioned relative to the bending bar of the support element, and wherein, when the self-tapping adjustment screw is rotated, the end of its threaded shaft rests against the bending bar and acts thereon to bend the bending bar.

3. The operating device according to claim 2, wherein the end of the self-tapping adjustment screw is formed so as to be convexly curved and/or the threaded sleeve is held in a rotationally fixed manner by means of a form fit.

4. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the threaded shaft of the self-tapping adjustment screw is rotatably and axially held on and/or in a reference element positioned relative to the bending bar of the support element, wherein the threaded sleeve is arranged on and/or in the bending bar, and wherien, when rotating the self-tapping adjustment screw, the bending bar is bendable.

5. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the switch has a switching member movable by the operating element along a switching path to a switch triggering position, and wherein the bending bar can be transferred to a bending position by means of the self-tapping adjustment screw and can be fixed in said bending position, in which the switching path has a predefinable length, while compensating for assembly and/or manufacturing tolerances of the housing of the operating element44-g) and of the switch.

6. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the switch has at least two contacts electrically connected in a switch triggering position or the switch is designed as a displacement sensor which operates optically, capacitively, resistively or inductively.

7. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the self-tapping adjustment screw acts on the bending bar at a position which is in extension of the movement axis of the operating element of the switching member, which extends through the switch, when the switching member is actuated.

8. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the switch is arranged on the upper side of the bending bar facing the operating element, and wherein the self-tapping adjustment screw rests against the lower side of the bending bar facing away from the upper side and in alignment with the switch.

9. The operating device according to claim 1, comprising an electrically or electromechanically or electromagnetically operating feedback unit for tactile feedback of a valid manual actuation of the operating element.

Description

[0031] The invention is explained in more detail below by means of an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawing, in which

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a front view (perspective) of an operating device,

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a section through the operating device according to II-II of FIG. 1,

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view in the area of FIG. 2,

[0035] FIGS. 4 to 7 show the individual phases during fine adjustment of the switch system (with regard to an operating element), and

[0036] FIGS. 8 and 9 show illustrations in section and in side view of the self-tapping threaded shaft of the adjustment screw.

[0037] In FIGS. 1 to 3, the basic construction of an exemplary embodiment of an operating device 10 is shown. In this exemplary embodiment, the operating device 10 comprises a housing 12, on the front wall 14 of which, for example, a display 16 and an operating element 18 in the form of a strip with three control panels 20, 21, 22 are located. A support element 24 for various electrical and electronic components are located inside the housing 12. Said support element 24 is typically a printed circuit board 26. The housing 12 further comprises a rear wall 28 which in this exemplary embodiment also performs the function of a reference element 30, which will be discussed further below.

[0038] According to the sectional views of FIGS. 2 and 3, in this exemplary embodiment a mechanical switch 32 comprising a switch housing 34 and a switching member 36 is located below the operating element 18. In this case, the switching element 36 is designed as a plunger which, when depressed, moves, for example, an electrically conductive element for electrically connecting two contact fields. When the operating element 18 is actuated, it is detected by sensors (e.g., capacitively) which of the control panels 20, 21, 22 is touched by, for example, a finger of a hand, in order to then execute the command corresponding to the control panel touched when the switch 32 is triggered.

[0039] The switch 32 is located in an area of the support element 24 where the support member 24 has a U-shaped cut out 38, for example. In this way, a bending bar 40 is formed, on whose upper side 42 facing the operating element 18 the switch 32 is located.

[0040] An adjustment member 46 acts on the lower side 44 of the bending bar 40, which is designed as a self-tapping adjustment screw 48 with a threaded shaft 50 and external thread 52 in combination with a threaded metal sleeve 54 with internal thread 56 (see also FIG. 4). For example, the adjustment screw 48 has steel as its material, while the threaded sleeve 54 is made of a metal that is “softer” than the material of the adjustment screw 48, such as brass. With its threaded shaft 50, the adjustment screw 48 is in thread engagement with the threaded sleeve 54 embedded in the rear wall 28. The threaded sleeve 54 is overmolded by typically plastic material of the rear wall 28 and is thus injection molded into the rear wall 28 and has a comparatively large surface roughness on its outer side (for example, produced by knurling), so that the plastic material and the threaded sleeve 54 interlock with one another and so that the threaded sleeve 54 is positioned or remains positioned in a rotationally fixed manner even at increased torques which occur due to the pairing of the self-tapping adjustment screw 48 and the threaded sleeve 54 when the adjustment screw 48 is screwed in and out. Preferably, the threaded shaft end 58 of the adjustment screw 48, which is in particular convexly bulged out, acts opposite the switch 32 on the lower side of the bending bar 40 by resting thereon.

[0041] In FIG. 2, the bending bar 40 is bent in the direction of the operating element 18 so that the switch 32 is in the desired position relative to the rest position of the operating element 18. This distance position defines that the operating element 18 triggers the switch 32 after being depressed by the desired distance. The operating element 18 is secured in a known manner against movement out of the housing 12 by, for example, latching hooks or snap-fits.

[0042] The procedure for fine adjustment of the switch system consisting of operating element 18 and associated switch 32 according to the invention is described briefly below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0043] At the start of the adjustment process, the switch 32 (in this case the switch housing 34) has a distance x (see FIGS. 4 and 5) to the lower side of the operating element 18 in the rest position, the distance being greater than the desired trigger path a (see FIG. 7). By means of the adjustment screw 48, the bending bar 40 is now bent in the direction of the operating element 18, which moves the switch 32 against the lower side of the operating element 18. Here, the adjustment screw 48 must be screwed into or screwed to the threaded sleeve 54 while overcoming a certain minimum torque. After the adjustment or bending path b has been covered, switch 32 is triggered (see FIG. 5). The switching signal is input, for example, via a device test interface at the end of the assembly of the operating device 10, which terminates further actuation of the adjustment screw 48, which is done automatically, for example. Now it is known when the switch 32 triggers.

[0044] In this situation, the switch system is arranged in the switched state and without play in the operating device. It should be noted that the switch 32 should not be collapsed to block size; this is for mechanical protection of the switch 32.

[0045] In other words, if the situation according to FIG. 5 is present, it is known where the switching point (free of play) of the switch 32 is located in the system.

[0046] Conversely, an exact switching path (trigger path) of the switch system can now be set free of play with a specific reset of the adjustment screw 48 (whose thread pitch dimension is known). With this resetting of the adjustment screw 48 by turning it back, the switch 32 is brought into its end position in which, when the operating element 18 is depressed, the switching member 36 of the switch 32 is moved to the switch triggering position and thus the operating element 18 is moved by the trigger path a (see FIG. 7). Turning back the adjustment screw 48 is in turn done by overcoming a minimum torque, which is lower than during the previous screwing in but sufficiently high, so that a reliable self-locking in the final setting position of the adjustment screw 48 is given.

[0047] An example of the shape of the self-tapping adjustment screw 48 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. According to this, the adjustment screw 48 has a trilobular shape in terms of its cross-section. The threaded shaft end 58 is slightly tapered and has a centering or guide thread that is not necessarily trilobular in shape. A self-tapping adjustment screw with trilobular shape is known commercially, for example, under TAPTITE 2000 or DUO TAPTITE 2000.

[0048] In addition, the adjustment member 46 stabilizes the bending bar 40 in its bending position assumed after adjustment.

[0049] With the previously described method and the previously described operating device design or switch system consisting of operating element 18 and switch 32 as well as bending bar 40, it is possible to reduce the tolerance chain of this mechanical “composite system” to zero. Small switching paths can be compensated for in spite of high component tolerances and large tolerance chains in the composite.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0050] 10 operating device

[0051] 12 housing

[0052] 14 front wall

[0053] 16 display

[0054] 18 operating element

[0055] 20 operating panel

[0056] 21 operating panel

[0057] 22 operating panel

[0058] 24 support element

[0059] 26 printed circuit board

[0060] 28 rear wall

[0061] 30 reference element

[0062] 32 switch

[0063] 34 switch housing

[0064] 36 switching member

[0065] 38 cut out

[0066] 40 bending bar

[0067] 42 upper side

[0068] 44 lower side

[0069] 46 adjustment member

[0070] 48 adjustment screw

[0071] 50 threaded shaft

[0072] 52 external thread of threaded shaft

[0073] 54 threaded sleeve

[0074] 56 internal thread of threaded shaft

[0075] 58 threaded shaft end

[0076] x distance

[0077] a trigger path

[0078] b bending path