Method for controlling an assembly comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes and also control device and motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11054713-B2
Application number	US-201816051949-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2018
Priority date	Aug 1, 2017
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method for controlling an assembly comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes, to set a transmittance individually in each case for these by a respective electrical actuation signal, wherein respective data of the state at the time of each individual pane are recorded by a control device and a configuration of the respective actuation signal is established in each case for each individual pane on the basis of the state data. The configurations of the actuation signals are thereby made to match one another in such a way that the individual panes have preferably the same transmittance value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for controlling an assembly comprising multiple individual switchable electrochromic panes by setting a transmittance for each of the individual panes individually by a respective electrical actuation signal, comprising:
at a control device, recording respective state data of each individual pane at a time, and
establishing a configuration of the respective actuation signal for each individual pane on the basis of the state data,
wherein the configurations of the actuation signals are made to match one another in such a way that the individual panes have the same transmittance value;
wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a state of aging of the respective individual pane at the time, determined by an analyzer of the control device, and the configurations are determined on the basis of a predetermined aging model, which indicates for a given state of aging a transmittance characteristic of the individual pane; and
wherein, in the case of the respective individual pane, a respective impedance value for at least two different operating states of the individual pane is recorded by the analyzer and, on the basis of a difference or a ratio of the impedance values, an aging value describing the state of aging is formed.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein limits comprise at least one of a smallest maximum transmittance and a greatest minimum transmittance of the individual panes is determined on the basis of the state data and the respective transmittance of each individual pane of the other individual panes is limited to the limits by the configuration of the respective actuation signal.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a change over time in the transmittance values of the individual panes is maintained during a switching operation by making the configurations match.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an aging process of the respective individual pane is replicated by the analyzer, in that, for different operating states of the individual pane, in each case the time period spent in the respective operating state is accumulated and an aging value describing the state of aging is formed from them.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, for the at least two operating states, the impedance value is measured by means of an AC voltage and one of the impedance values is measured at a frequency of the AC voltage of a period greater than a time constant of particles of an electrochromic suspension of the respective individual pane, and another of the impedance values is measured at a frequency of the AC voltage of a period less than the time constant of the particles.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a temperature at the time of the respective individual pane determined by a temperature recording unit and the configurations are set on the basis of a temperature characteristic of the individual panes.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the temperature recording unit is provided by the control device, in that the control device records an electrical impedance of the respective individual pane and determines the temperature at the time of the individual pane in dependence on the electrical impedance recorded.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a transmittance at the time that is measured on the respective individual pane by a photo measuring unit.

9. A control device for controlling an assembly comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes, the control device comprising a computation unit configured to carry out the method as claimed in claim 1 .

10. A motor vehicle comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes and the control device as claimed in claim 9 .

11. A method for controlling an assembly comprising multiple individual switchable electrochromic panes by setting a transmittance for each of the individual panes individually by a respective electrical actuation signal, comprising: at a control device, recording respective state data of each individual pane at a time, and establishing a configuration of the respective actuation signal for each individual pane on the basis of the state data, wherein the configurations of the actuation signals are made to match one another in such a way that the individual panes have the same transmittance value; wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a state of aging of the respective individual pane at the time, determined by an analyzer of the control device, and the configurations are determined on the basis of a predetermined aging model, which indicates for a given state of aging a transmittance characteristic of the individual pane; and wherein an aging process of the respective individual pane is replicated by the analyzer, in that, for different operating states of the individual pane, in each case the time period spent in the respective operating state is accumulated and an aging value describing the state of aging is formed from them; wherein, in the case of the respective individual pane, a respective impedance value for at least two different operating states of the individual pane is recorded by the analyzer and, on the basis of a difference or a ratio of the impedance values, an aging value describing the state of aging is formed; and wherein, for the at least two operating states, the impedance value is measured by means of an AC voltage and one of the impedance values is measured at a frequency of the AC voltage of a period greater than a time constant of particles of an electrochromic suspension of the respective individual pane, and another of the impedance values is measured at a frequency of the AC voltage of a period less than the time constant of the particles.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a temperature at the time of the respective individual pane determined by a temperature recording unit and the configurations are set on the basis of a temperature characteristic of the individual panes.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the temperature recording unit is provided by the control device, in that the control device records an electrical impedance of the respective individual pane and determines the temperature at the time of the individual pane in dependence on the electrical impedance recorded.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the state data of the individual panes indicate in each case a transmittance at the time that is measured on the respective individual pane by a photo measuring unit.

15. A control device for controlling an assembly comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes, the control device comprising a computation unit configured to carry out the method as claimed in claim 11 .

16. A motor vehicle comprising multiple switchable electrochromic individual panes and the control device as claimed in claim 15 .

Assignees

• Continental Automotive Gmbh

Inventors

• Hinterberger Rene
• Gubesch Peter
• Frischmuth Tobias
• Greil Johannes
• Egger Andreas

Classifications

• G02F1/163 Primary

  Operation of electrochromic cells, e.g. electrodeposition cells; Circuit arrangements therefor · CPC title

• G01K7/343

  the dielectric constant of which is temperature dependant · CPC title

• G02F1/172

  based on a suspension of orientable dipolar particles, e.g. suspended particles displays · CPC title

• G01K7/16

  using resistive elements · CPC title

• G02F1/153 Primary

  Constructional details · CPC title