Arrangement, in particular in vehicles, for transmitting electric signals by connecting lines

• US 5,821,632 A
• Filed: 02/12/1996
• Issued: 10/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dodcuco GmbH & Co. Dr. Eugen Durrwachter
• Original Assignee: Doduco GmbH & Co., Dr. Eugen Durrwachter
• Inventors: Uhl, Gunter, Normann, Norbert, Schulze, Lothar, Ney, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Elms, Richard T.
• Application Number:
  US08/373,206
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 307/9.1-10.6, 307/1, 307/3, 307/7, 307/104, 336/DIG. 2, 336/118-120, 336/122-124, 340/310.07, 340/310.02, 340/310.01, 340/310.06, 340/425.5, 340/426, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/539, 340/825.3-825.32, 340/825.73, 364/423.098, 364/424.045, 364/424.059, 370/151, 180/287, 343/702
• US Class Current: 307/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0315 using multiplexing techniques multiplexing for transmission of signals G08C15/00; multiplexing for electrical communication in general H04J
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 336/02 Separable

Abstract

Electric low current signals are transmitted through two-wire circuits having coaxial connectors which are closed by windings that are coupled transformer-like to the coaxial connectors. This arrangement allows transmission of control signals for electric power consuming devices within automobile doors, low frequency audio signals, and electrical power to power the electric consumers. All signals are transmitted on a common data cable. Control signals are in binary coded form, modulated onto a carrier signal, as are modulated, low frequency audio signals. The signals are demodulated in a door module and separated according to frequency. The low frequency audio signals are amplified and transmitted to a loudspeaker. The control signals are processed by a microprocessor controller in conjunction with switching units that create corrective actions for the power consuming devices located in the door.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said two-wire circuits closed by transformer-like windings coupled in the coaxial connector, wherein the two wires of the two-wire circuit are twisted into each other.

2. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein said carrier signal is a rectangular one.

3. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein the modulator is a frequency modulator.

4. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein the modulator is a pulse-width modulator in order to transmit low frequency audio signals.

5. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein the receiver further includes a rectifier as a power source for the supply of the receiver which rectifies the carrier signal.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 in which, signals are binary coded and transmitted on the carrier signal as a serial data form.

7. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein said signals are binary coded and transmitted on the carrier signal in serial data form, wherein an amplitude modulator is provided which modulates the binary signals onto the carrier signal through amplitude modulation.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the amplitude modulator is one of an impulse generator and a frequency generator whose output signal is added to the carrier signal.

9. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, in which modems are provided serving as the modulator as well as the demodulator enabling carrier signal transmission in both directions.

10. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein low frequency audio signals, for a loud speaker are also modulated onto the carrier signal, and are separated from other signals according to frequency at the receiver, and amplified, and sent to the targeted receiver, such as a loud speaker.

11. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said transmitter including a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein a frequency between 80 kHz and 120 kHz is chosen as a frequency of the carrier signal.

12. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver located within said vehicle by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said two-wire circuits closed by transformer-like windings coupled in the coaxial connector, wherein said transmitter includes a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, and a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein said modulator modulates electric signals for a plurality of receivers onto said same carrier signal, wherein the receivers are located in a door of said automobile, the transmitter is located elsewhere in the automobile and, in the area where the door is rotatably affixed to the automobile frame with hinges, one part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the door and another part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the automobile body.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein a bus control equipment is provided for the supply of several electric power consuming devices in the door with electric control signals and for the supply of another power consuming device, such as a loud speaker with low frequency audio signals, and that the bus control equipment contains an inquiry unit for interrogating the position of one of the switches and operating elements located exterior to the door and a microprocessor for controlling the sequence of operations in the bus control equipment, whereby the modulator receives the low frequency signals and modulates them onto the carrier signal and receives control signals from the inquiry unit and modulates them onto the carrier signal in serial data form, and that the demodulator located in the door receives signals from the bus control equipment, demodulates them and separates them into control signals and low frequency signals.

14. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver located within said vehicle by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said two-wire circuits closed by transformer-like windings coupled in the coaxial connector, wherein said transmitter includes a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal, and a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said signals to be transmitted to the receiver, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein said modulator modulates electric signals for a plurality of receivers onto said same carrier signal, wherein the receivers are located in a door of said vehicle, the transmitter is located elsewhere in the automobile and in the area where the door is rotatably affixed to the automobile frame with hinges, one part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the door and another part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the automobile body, the coaxial connector has two parts, wherein the two parts of the coaxial connector are penetrating each other the way the two parts of a door hinge penetrate each other.

15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the coaxial connector is a hinge.

16. The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein the receivers are located in an automobile door, the transmitter is located elsewhere in the automobile and, in the area where the door is rotably affixed to the automobile frame with hinges, one part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the door and another part of the coaxial connector is affixed to the automobile body.

17. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the coaxial connector is a transformer having a primary and secondary winding whose primary winding is affixed to the automobile body exterior and whose secondary winding is affixed to the door and encloses a ferromagnetic hinge pin which projects into a ferromagnetic yoke said yoke is affixed to the automobile body.

18. The apparatus as set forth in claim 17, wherein the hinge pin consists of a longitudinally slotted tube made from non-magnetic steel with a soft magnetic core.

19. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein a bus control equipment is provided for the supply of several electric power consuming devices in the door with electric control signals and for the supply of another power consuming device, such as a loud speaker with low frequency audio signals, and that the bus control equipment contains an inquiry unit for interrogating the position of one of the switches and other operating elements located exterior to the door and a microprocessor for controlling the sequence of operations in the bus control equipment, whereby the modulator receives the low frequency signals and modulates them onto the carrier signal and receives control signals from the inquiry unit and modulates them onto the carrier signal in serial data form and that the demodulator located in the door receives signals from the bus control equipment, demodulates them and separates them into control signals and low frequency signals.

20. An apparatus for the transmission of low current electric signals through cables of a vehicle from a transmitter to a receiver located within said vehicle by means of two-wire circuits, which said circuits contain at least one coaxial connector for separating said transmitter from said receiver, said two-wire circuits closed by transformer-like windings coupled in the coaxial connector, wherein said transmitter includes a frequency generator for generating a carrier signal to the receiver and a modulator for modulating signals onto the carrier signal, said receiver including a demodulator for restoring signals by demodulation, wherein said modulator modulates electric signals for a plurality of receivers onto said same carrier signal, and the transmitter includes a bus control equipment for supplying the receiver with signals and a microprocessor for the control of a sequence of operations in the bus control equipment so that the modulator modulates the signals in serial data form onto the carrier signal for transmission by means of the two-wire circuit through the coaxial connector, wherein the bus control equipment provides power consuming devices in the door with electric control signals and supplies another power consuming device such as a loud speaker with low frequency audio signals, the bus control equipment containing an inquiry unit for interrogating the position of one of switches and other operating elements located exterior to the door and a microprocessor for controlling the sequence of operations in the bus control equipment, whereby the modulator receives the low frequency signals and modulates them onto the carrier signal and receives control signals from the inquiry unit and modulates them onto the carrier signal in serial data form, and the demodulator located in the door receives signals from the bus control equipment, demodulates them and separates them into control signals and low frequency signals.

21. The apparatus as set forth in claim 20, wherein the demodulator in the door is a part of a door module circuit, said door module circuit also containing a low frequency amplifier for the low frequency signals and switching units for converting control signals into corrective action signals.

22. The apparatus as set forth in claim 21, wherein the door module is a micro controller provided for evaluating the demodulated control signals and for controlling switching units.

23. The apparatus as set forth in claim 20, wherein the bus control equipment is connected with several door modules.

24. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein the door module also includes an inquiry unit which interrogates the position of switches and other operating elements located in the door, and also a modulator for modulating control signals received from the inquiry unit onto the carrier signal, and wherein in the bus control equipment, a demodulator unit is provided in which the modulated signal transmitted from the coaxial connector and the door module is demodulated in order to restore the control signals, wherein the microprocessor transmits the signal to switching units for converting the control signals for use in corrective action elements exterior to the doors, and to the modulator for transmission to another door module.

25. A door hinge swivel joint having a first and second half, said joint used for the wireless transmission of electric signals and electrical currents, said swivel joint configured as a transformer, whose primary winding is part of one half of the hinge and whose secondary winding is part of the other half of the hinge.