Monitoring System for Motor Vehicles

• US 20160061669A1
• Filed: 05/14/2015
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Denis Guezelocak
• Original Assignee: Denis Guezelocak
• Inventors: Guezelocak, Denis
• Granted Patent: US 10,983,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/046 Adaptations on rotatable parts of the steering wheel for accommodation of switches
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/065 Steering wheels with heating and ventilating means heating and ventilation of steering wheel when connected to vehicle HVAC B60H1/00292
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/20 by measuring variations in ohmic resistance of solid materials or of electrically-conductive fluids of piezo-resistive materials G01L1/18; by making use of electrokinetic cells, i.e. liquid-containing cells wherein an electrical potential is produced or varied upon the application of stress
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/22 using resistance strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/221 to steering wheels, e.g. for power assisted steering

Abstract

A monitoring system for motor vehicles has a number of sensors, which are arranged on control and/or actuation devices of the motor vehicle, which have a core and an outer envelope covering the same to some extent. The sensors are embedded between the core and the outer envelope thereof and deliver an output signal when a force is exerted onto the outer envelope. The sensors are formed by a sensor unit, which can be stretched or clamped onto the core, with a first foil with a first conducting trace pattern and with a second foil, arranged thereabove, with a second conducting trace pattern. The conducting trace patterns are arranged on mutually facing surfaces of the two foils and the mutually facing surfaces of the foil are connected to one another via spacer elements in such a manner that the foils are elastically biased away from one another and a contact between the first and second conducting trace patterns can be produced by exerting a force onto at least one of the foils.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for motor vehicles, comprising a number of sensors arranged on control and/or actuation devices of the motor vehicle;

evaluation means for evaluating the output signals of the sensors; and

signalling means, which deliver control signals to signalling means and/or operating means of the vehicle, wherein the control and/or actuation devices have a core and an outer envelope covering the core at least to some extent, and wherein sensor elements are embedded between the core and the outer envelope thereof and are distributed over a substantial portion of an outer surface of the actuation apparatuses and deliver an output signal when a force is exerted onto the outer envelope, wherein the sensor elements are formed by a pre-assembled sensor unit adapted to be stretched onto the core and covered by the outer envelope, in that the sensor unit comprises a first electrically-insulating foil having a first electrically conducting trace pattern and a second electrically-insulating foil having a second electrically conducting trace pattern arranged above said first foil, wherein the conducting trace patterns are arranged on the mutually facing surfaces of the first and second foil, in that the mutually facing surfaces of the first and/or second foil are connected to one another by means of spacer elements arranged between the foils, in that the foils are elastically biased away from one another and a contact between the first and second conducting trace patterns can be produced on at least one of the foils by exerting a force onto at least one of the foils, in that at least one of the first and second conducting trace patterns is divided into a plurality of individual areas, and in that first groups of individual areas are connected to one another via connecting conducting traces and to the evaluation means by means of conducting bus traces.

2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the connecting conducting traces and/or bus traces have a measurable resistance.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the spacer elements are elastically deformable.

4. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second foil is elastically deformable in the region between the spacer elements.

5. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein one of the first and second conducting trace patterns is formed by a large-area conducting trace.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit has a central web, and in that tabs that are spaced from one another by intermediate spaces extend from both longitudinal sides of the central web.

7. The monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein in the case of a multidimensionally curved surface of the core, the central web of the sensor unit has a shape which follows the shape of one of the lines of curvature of the surface, and in that the tabs are adapted to be stretched onto the surface in the direction of a second line of curvature, which is oriented substantially orthogonally to the first line of curvature at the point of connection with the central web.

8. The monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein the core is the outer rim of a steering wheel, wherein the first line of curvature corresponds to the front edge of the outer rim and the second line of curvature corresponds to the outer circumference of the cross-section of the outer rim.

9. The monitoring system according to claim claim 6, wherein in the case of a multidimensionally curved surface of the core, the central web of the sensor unit is rectilinear and can be laid on the outer circumference of the curved surface of the core, which is curved along a first line of curvature, and in that the tabs are adapted to be stretched onto the surface in the direction of a second line of curvature, which is in each case essentially at right angles to the first line of curvature at the point of connection with the central web.

10. The monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the core is the outer rim of a steering wheel, wherein the first line of curvature corresponds to the outer circumference of the outer rim and the second line of curvature corresponds to the outer circumference of the cross-section of the outer rim.

11. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein one of the conducting trace patterns is adapted to be connected to a voltage source, whilst the other of the conducting trace patterns is connected via the conducting bus traces to one or a plurality of inputs of a microprocessor forming part of the evaluation means, which is adapted for measuring the current flowing between the two conducting trace patterns and/or the resistance between these two conducting trace patterns.

12. The monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein the current or resistance measurement is repeated in short time periods and in that the microprocessor determines a zero state from the respective measured values, wherein deviations from this zero state above a predetermined threshold constitute a trigger criterion for an alarm state.

13. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein one of the foils carries a further conducting trace, which is constructed for heating the steering wheel.