A CIRCUIT CARRIER FOR CARDAN SHAFTS

Abstract

A circuit carrier includes the following: a carrier body having an opening arranged to allow the rotating parts of the cardan shaft to pass through and engages the rotating part of the cardan shaft; a circuit assembly surface that is provided on the carrier body as a radially extending surface; at least one elevation foot provided as an axially extending projection on the circuit assembly surface; a circuit member provided on the elevation foot such that it does not contact the circuit assembly surface; at least one channel provided on the circuit assembly surface; at least one retaining hole provided on the circuit assembly surface; a coating provided to completely encapsulate said circuit element and to at least partially fill the recess and completely fill the retaining hole.

Claims

1. A circuit carrier for positioning a circuit on a rotating part of a cardan shaft, the circuit carrier comprising: a carrier body having an opening arranged to allow the rotating parts of the cardan shaft to pass through, the carrier body being adapted to engage the rotating part of the cardan shaft; a circuit assembly surface provided on said carrier body as a radially extending surface; at least one elevation foot provided as an axially extending projection on said circuit assembly surface; a circuit member provided on the at least one elevation foot such that it does not contact the circuit assembly surface; at least one channel provided on the circuit assembly surface; at least one retaining hole provided on the circuit assembly surface; and a coating provided to completely encapsulate said circuit element and at least partially fill the at least one channel and completely fill the at least one retaining hole.

2. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, wherein the circuit assembly surface has a circular shape.

3. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, wherein the at least one channel comprises a ring around the opening.

4. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, wherein the circuit carrier comprises two channels which are located at the top and bottom portion of the circuit element.

5. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the at least one elevation foot is provided with a radius.

6. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, comprising a recess on the surface of the carrier body extending towards the rotating part.

7. A circuit carrier according to claim 1, comprising a coil winding surface to allow a coil winding to be wound onto the carrier body, which will provide wireless power transfer with another coil winding.

8. A cardan shaft comprising: at least one midship yoke member and a cardan shaft unit element associated with said at least one midship yoke member; a center bearing to carry the cardan shaft and a circuit carrier according to claim 1 in connection with a neck portion of said midship yoke impart or cardan shaft unit element.

9. A cardan shaft comprising: at least one midship yoke member and a cardan shaft unit element associated with said at least one midship yoke member; a center bearing to carry the cardan shaft and a circuit carrier in accordance with claim 8 in connection with the neck portion of said intermediate yoke part or cardan shaft unit element; two coil windings, one positioned on the center bearing and the other positioned on the circuit carrier so as to provide wireless power transfer between each other.

10. Production method of a circuit carrier for positioning a circuit on a rotating part of a cardan shaft, comprising the following steps: providing a circuit carrier according to claim 1, applying a fluid coating on a circuit assembly surface such that a circuit element is completely encapsulated and fills a recess at least partially and completely fills a retaining hole and then left to dry or to be dried.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] In FIG. 1, an isometric view of the partial state of a cardan shaft structure with an electronic circuit provided on a center bearing is given.

[0023] In FIG. 1A, a section view of the structure in FIG. 1 is given.

[0024] In FIG. 2, an isometric view of the circuit carrier without the electronic circuit and the coating is given.

[0025] In FIG. 2.A, a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the circuit carrier whose electronic circuit is coated is given.

[0026] In FIG. 2.B, a detailed view of an embodiment of the elevation feet of the circuit carrier is given

[0027] In FIG. 2.C, a cross-sectional view of a circuit carrier structure with retaining holes is given.

[0028] The figures are not required to be scaled and the details which are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, the elements that are at least substantially identical or have at least substantially identical functions are shown by the same number.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCES IN FIGURES

[0029] 10. Circuit carrier [0030] 11. Carrier body [0031] 12. Opening [0032] 13. Circuit assembly surface [0033] 14. Elevation feet [0034] 15. Filling channels [0035] 16. Recess [0036] 17. Retaining holes [0037] 18. Coil winding surface [0038] 20. Midship yoke [0039] 21. Yoke [0040] 211. Yoke Hole [0041] 30. Cardan shaft unit element [0042] 40. Center bearing [0043] 41. Center bearing connection [0044] 42. Fixed coil carrier [0045] 421. Secondary winding surface [0046] D. Circuit element [0047] S. Winding [0048] K. Coating

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0049] In this detailed description, the inventive circuit carrier for cardan shafts (10) is described by means of examples only for clarifying the subject matter such that no limiting effect is created.

[0050] The present invention relates to a circuit carrier (10) element that provides positioning and protection of an electronic circuit on the rotating elements of the cardan shafts, a cardan shaft with said circuit carrier (10) element and the production method of said circuit carrier (10) element.

[0051] The present invention relates to a circuit carrier (10) for positioning a circuit on a rotating part of the cardan shaft, characterized in that, it comprises the following; a carrier body (11) that includes an opening (12) arranged to allow the rotating parts of the cardan shaft to pass through and is provided such that it engages the rotating part of the cardan shaft;

circuit assembly surface (13) that is provided on said carrier body (11) as a radially extending surface;
at least one elevation foot (14) provided as an axially extending projection on said circuit assembly surface (13);
a circuit member (D) provided on the elevation foot (14) such that it does not contact the circuit assembly surface (13);
at least one channel (15) provided on the circuit assembly surface (13);
at least one retaining hole (17) provided on the circuit assembly surface (13);
a coating (K) provided to completely encapsulate said circuit element (D) and at least partially fill the channel (15) and completely fill the retaining hole (17).

[0052] Here, the circuit element (D) may be a single part of a larger component, or it may be the component itself. The circuit element (D) can be measurement elements or sensors that can take measurements especially on the relevant elements of the cardan shaft.

[0053] Said coating (K) is a structure that takes its protective final form by drying after it is applied in fluid form on the circuit carrier (10), in particular on the circuit element (D). Applying the coating (K) to the circuit element (D) before it is connected to the circuit carrier (10) will prevent most of the technical benefits of the invention.

[0054] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 1.A; Said circuit carrier (10) is arranged to be connected on a carrier body (11) and especially on a rotating element of the cardan shaft. Here, preferably the carrier body (11) is arranged to surround said rotating element in the form of a sheath.

[0055] Besides, the circuit carrier (10) comprises a circuit assembly surface (13) to which the circuit element (D) is connected and extending from the carrier body (11) in the radial direction and preferably arranged in a planar manner.

[0056] Besides, there is an opening (12) on the carrier body (11), through which the rotating element of the cardan shaft can pass.

[0057] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the rotating part of the cardan shaft is chosen as a midship yoke (20). Here, the circuit carrier (10) is arranged to be connected to the midship yoke (20), in particular to the neck portion of a midship yoke (20). Here, midship yoke (20) includes a pair of yokes (21) for inserting the trunnions of a cross and an yoke hole (211) on the yokes (21).

[0058] A cardan shaft unit element (30), in particular an intermediate bearing shaft, is placed inside said midship yoke (20). Here, the midship yoke (20) and the cardan shaft unit element (30) are connected with each other by means of splines extending in the axial direction.

[0059] The midship yoke (20) and the cardan shaft unit element (30) are carried with the help of a center bearing (40) and are connected to the vehicle chassis with a center bearing connection (41). In a specific embodiment, the center bearing (40) contains fixed coil carrier (42) and a secondary winding surface (421) arranged on the fixed coil carrier (42). A coil winding (S) is arranged on said secondary winding surface (421).

[0060] There is a coil winding surface (18) on the circuit carrier (10) and a coil winding (S) provided on this surface in response to the coil winding (S) on the secondary winding surface (421). These two coil windings (S) are arranged to provide wireless power transfer between each other. Therefore, the circuit element (D) can be powered on the circuit carrier (10). The circuit element (D) may also be powered by different wireless power transfer arrangements or by battery-like power sources provided on the circuit carrier (10).

[0061] The circuit carrier (10) contains a circular carrier body (11) and an opening (12) is provided in the center of said carrier body (11) such that it functions as a mouth with reference to FIGS. 2 and 2.A. The opening (12) is at the end of the walls extending in the axial direction on the carrier body (11). There is a circuit assembly surface (13) extending planar in the radial direction from the surface of the carrier body (11). The circuit assembly surface (13) is provided specifically planar for mounting the circuit elements (D).

[0062] There is preferably at least one elevation foot (14) on said circuit assembly surface (13) in the form of a protrusion, on which the circuit element (D) is placed and which prevents the circuit element (D) from directly contacting the circuit assembly surface (13). Herein, the elevation foot (14) allows the circuit element (D) to be fully encapsulated, as will be explained later.

[0063] The fluid coating (K) cannot reach the bottom of the circuit element (D) under normal conditions, which creates problems in terms of sealing. The elevation feet (14) creates a gap between two elements by breaking the contact of the circuit element (D) with the circuit assembly surface (13), and the coating (K) fills said cavity, ensuring that the circuit element (D) is completely encapsulated.

[0064] As can be clearly understood here, the expression to fully encapsulate refers to the surfaces of the circuit element (D) outside the part where the elevation feet (14) and the circuit element (D) come into contact.

[0065] A plurality of elevation feet (14) can preferably be provided and in particular, it can be arranged on the circuit assembly surface (13) with equal angle intervals.

[0066] The end portion of the elevation feet (14) that contacts the circuit element (14) is preferably provided with a radius as shown in FIG. 2.B and accordingly, the amount of surface covered in the circuit element (D) is increased by minimizing the contact area therein.

[0067] At least one, preferably two, channels (15) are arranged on the circuit assembly surface (13) so as to increase the sealing and to ensure that the coating (K) is connected to the surface more tightly. Here, the channels (15) are preferably arranged in the form of a ring. Passage of fluid through the part related to the filling of the coating (K) into these channels (15) is prevented or significantly reduced compared to the planar surfaces.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment, two channels (15) are arranged and the elevation foot (14) is provided to be positioned between said channels (15). Therefore, the channels (15) ensure sealing especially in the area where the elevating foot (14), that is, the circuit element (D), is located.

[0069] A recess (16) is provided on said carrier body (11) with reference to FIG. 2.A. The recess (16) is preferably provided on the axial walls where the opening (12) is provided. The recess (16) is especially provided in the form of a recess extending in the radial direction towards the rotating part of the cardan shaft. The coating (K) fills the recess (16) in a fluid state and after drying, the recess (16) prevents the coating (K) from moving in the axial direction. Besides, it also increases the sealing similar to the channels (15).

[0070] There are also retaining holes (17) arranged on the circuit assembly surface (13). Said retaining holes (17) preferably extend in the axial direction on the circuit assembly surface (13). Retaining holes (17) can also be provided in a channel structure opening to the rear section of the circuit assembly surface (13), as in FIG. 2.C. The fluid coating (K) fills the retaining holes (17), forming an integrated pin with itself and it prevents the movement of the coating (K) on the circuit assembly surface (13) after freezing

[0071] Retaining holes (17) are preferably provided in the outer diameter portion of the circuit assembly surface (13). Retaining holes (17) are provided especially between the outer diameter and the channel (15), if any, of the channel (15) closest to the outer diameter.

[0072] The production of said circuit carrier (10) is as follows.

[0073] A circuit carrier (10) is provided in accordance with any of the above descriptions or claims. A fluid coating (K) is applied on the circuit assembly surface (13). Here, the fluid coating is filled into the lower part of the circuit element (D), whose contact with the circuit assembly surface (13) is cut off by the elevating feet (14), the holder holes (17) and the channels (15), preferably at least a part or all of the recess. Then the fluid coating (K) takes its final form by being dried or drying. Preferably, the opening (12) axis of the circuit holder (10) is positioned perpendicular to the floor during application.

[0074] It is also possible to apply a mold in the form of a cover on the circuit mounting surface (13) so as to give a specific shape to the coating during the application of said fluid.

[0075] The coating (K) is preferably a thermoplastic. In one embodiment, in particular, thermoplastic polyamide is used.

[0076] The protection scope of the invention is specified in the appended claims and cannot be limited to the description made for illustrative purposes in this detailed description. Likewise, it is clear that a person skilled in the art can present similar embodiments in the light of the above descriptions without departing from the main theme of the invention.