Component part, device and method for determining an axial position of a component part and for determining a rotary speed of the component part

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9518615-B2
Application number	US-201414522818-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2014
Priority date	Oct 24, 2013
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

A component of a transmission device, which rotates around a central axis and is adjustable in an axial direction, includes with an encoder contour on the circumference of the component that interacts with a sensor device. The encoder contour features at least one area provided for calculating the axial position of the component, whereas a surface of the first area is designed with a varying radial extension along the axial direction relative to the central axis. The encoder contour has second areas for calculating the rotational speed of the component, whereas a slope of a radial surface of the second areas in the axial direction is differentiated from a slope of the surface of the first areas in the axial direction. In the circumferential direction of the component, the encoder contour is designed alternately with first areas and second areas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A component of a transmission that is rotatable relative to a central axis and is adjustable in an axial direction, comprising: a contour defined in a circumference of the component so as to rotate with the component, the contour designed to interact with a sensor device spaced radially adjacent to the contour; the contour comprising a plurality of first areas used by the sensor device to calculate a position of the component in the axial direction, each of the first areas comprising a first surface that varies in a radial dimension relative to the central axis along the axial direction; the contour further comprising a plurality of second areas used by the sensor device to calculate a rotational speed of the component, each of the second areas comprising a second surface with a slope in the axial direction that is differentiated by the sensor device from a slope of the first surface in the first areas, each of the second areas having a same constant radius along the axial direction of movement of the component; and the first areas and second areas alternating around the circumference of the component such that the first areas are flanked by immediately adjacent second areas without a circumferential space between the first areas and the second areas.

2. The component as in claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the first areas comprises two sections adjacent each other in the axial direction, wherein along the axial direction of movement of the component, one of the sections having a constant slope towards the central axis, and the other section having a constant slope away from the central axis.

3. The component as in claim 2 , wherein the radius of the second surfaces of the second areas corresponds to either of a maximum or a minimum radius of the two section of the first surface.

4. The component as in claim 1 , wherein a circumferential spacing of the second areas around the contour is constant.

5. A transmission device, comprising: a component that is rotatable relative to a central axis and is adjustable in an axial direction, the component further comprising: a contour defined in a circumference of the component so as to rotate with the component; the contour comprising a plurality of first areas used by a sensor device to calculate a position of the component in the axial direction, each of the first areas comprising a first surface that varies in a radial dimension relative to the central axis along the axial direction; the contour further comprising a plurality of second areas used by the sensor device to calculate a rotational speed of the component, each of the second areas comprising a second surface with a slope in the axial direction that is differentiated by the sensor device from a slope of the first surface in the first areas; and the first areas and second areas alternating around the circumference of the component; the sensor device spaced radially adjacent the contour, the sensor device interacting with the contour to determine a gap distance from the sensor device to surfaces of the first areas and second areas, wherein one or both of an axial position of the component or rotational speed of the component is calculated based on the gap distances; the sensor device comprising at least one sensor unit with two measuring devices spaced apart in the direction of axial movement of the component and oriented relative to the first and second areas such that the measuring devices simultaneously determine the gap distance at axially spaced locations within a single one of the first areas that is opposite to the sensor device and sequentially determine the gap distance to a single one of the second areas that is opposite to the sensor device as the component rotates.

6. The device as in claim 5 , wherein the sensor device comprises a single sensor unit for determining axial position of the component and rotational speed of the component from a single signal produced by the single sensor unit.

7. The device as in claim 5 , wherein the sensor device comprises a first sensor unit for determining axial position of the component from a signal produced by the first sensor unit and a separate second sensor unit for determining rotational speed of the component from a signal produced by the second sensor unit.

8. The device as in claim 5 , wherein the sensor device comprises a filter configured to transform a sensor signal from the measuring device into one or both of a first signal used to calculate the axial position of the component or a second signal used to calculate rotational speed of the component.

9. The device as in claim 8 , wherein the sensor device comprises a microcontroller that includes the filter and the measuring device.

10. A method for calculating the axial position and rotational speed of a component in a transmission, wherein the component is rotatable and axially shiftable between operating positions, comprising: generating a first sensor signal by interaction of a sensor device with first areas of an encoder contour provided around a circumference of the component the first areas varying in a radial dimension relative to a central axis of the component along the axial direction; transforming the first sensor signal with a filter into a first signal; using the first signal to calculate the axial position of the component; generating a second sensor signal by interaction of the sensor device with second areas of the encoder contour, the second areas having a constant radial dimension relative to the central axis of the component; transforming the second sensor signal with a filter into a second signal; using the second signal to calculate rotational speed of the component; wherein the sensor device has a sensor unit with to measuring device spaced apart in the direction of axial movement of the component the first sensor signal generated as a function of a difference in signals from the two measuring devices for the first areas of the contour, and the second sensor signal generated as a function of an average of the signals from the two measuring devices for the second areas of the contour.

11. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the first sensor signal is generated by interaction of a first sensor unit of the sensor device with the encoder contour, and the second sensor signal is generated by interaction of a second sensor unit of the sensor device with the encoder contour.

12. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the first sensor signal is generated by interaction of a first sensor unit of the sensor device with the encoder contour, and the second sensor signal is generated by interaction of the first sensor unit of the sensor device with the encoder contour.

Assignees

• Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen

Inventors

• Lippenberger Ingo
• Hakspiel Stefan
• Braun Christoph
• Bezikofer Dominic
• Schneider Frank

Classifications

• G01D5/12

  using electric or magnetic means (G01D5/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16D2300/18

  Sensors; Details or arrangements thereof · CPC title

• G01P3/486

  delivered by photo-electric detectors · CPC title

• G01D5/145 Primary

  influenced by the relative movement between the Hall device and magnetic fields (see G01R33/06) · CPC title

• F16D11/14 Primary

  with clutching members movable only axially (F16D11/02, F16D11/08 take precedence) · CPC title