Motor vehicle door lock system

• US 7,589,431 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brose Schließsysteme Gmbh & Co. Kg
• Original Assignee: Brose Schließsysteme Gmbh & Co. Kg
• Inventors: Groewe, Christian, Platzkoester, Andreas, Hentsch, Ingmar, Hegerfeld, Frank, Duenne, Klaus, Langfermann, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Paladini; Albert W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cavallari; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/014,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20050156468A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 307/10.1, 710/45, 180/271, 280/735, 340/933, 340/438
• US Class Current: 307/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/04 Preventing unwanted lock actuation, e.g. unlatching, at the moment of collision
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 77/48 by electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 81/77 comprising sensors detecting the presence of the hand of a user

Abstract

A motor vehicle with a control means and an electrically connected sensor. The sensor is used especially to detect the actuation of a door handle for opening a motor vehicle lock. In order to ensure high failure safety, the sensor for transmission of sensor signals has at least two electrically independent outputs which are connected to the control means via electrical signal lines.

Claims

1. Motor vehicle, comprising:

a control means; and

at least one sensor which is electrically connected to the control means,

wherein each sensor has two electrically independent and redundant outputs for transmission of redundant sensor signals,

wherein the redundant outputs are connected to the control means via respective redundant electrical signal lines so as to provide alternative means for performing the same function of the sensor in different manners in case of failure of one of the redundant outputs,

wherein the control means and the at least one sensor are part of a motor vehicle locking system of the motor vehicle, and

wherein the at least one sensor, for producing the sensor signals, has at least two switching devices in parallel, at least one of the switching devices being made as a make contact switching device and another of the switching devices being made as a break contact switching device.

2. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is adapted for detecting one of a state of a motor vehicle lock and actuation of a control element of the motor vehicle.

3. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor has exactly two electrically independent outputs for transmission of sensor signals.

4. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outputs of the sensor are connected to the control means via separate electrical signal lines.

5. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control means is adapted for delivering control signals to a consumer, and wherein the consumer is a drive of a motor vehicle lock.

6. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the consumer is an opening drive of a motor vehicle lock.

7. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor signals at the different outputs of the at least one sensor are identical to one another, wherein the at least one sensor has two electrically independent outputs for the same sensor signal and the outputs are connected to two separate inputs of the control means via two separate electrical signal lines.

8. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein, when one signal line fails, the sensor signal is transmitted via the other signal line to the control means and evaluated by the control means.

9. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein, by the control means, a faulty sensor signal is detected by comparison of the sensor signals which have been transmitted over the signal lines.

10. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor has at least two electrically independent inputs for the outputs and the inputs are connected to a power supply via separate supply lines.

11. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a switching sensor.

12. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a multi-circuit switch.

13. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensor is a microswitch with two independent switching lugs.

14. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is at least one of a capacitive, inductive, optical and piezoelectric sensor.

15. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each sensor signal is resistor-coded and is subject to voltage division so that at least one of a line interruption and a short circuit of a current path of the sensor signal is detectable by the control means.

16. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises at least first and second sensors, wherein each of the first and second sensors has two electrically independent and redundant outputs for sensor signals which are connected to two separate respective inputs of the control means via two respective signal lines.

17. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the sensor signals of the sensors have at least one of different resistor-coding and different voltages so that the respective sensor signals can be detected independently of one another by the control means.

18. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor vehicle has a motor vehicle locking system to which the control means and the at least one sensor is assigned.

19. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the motor vehicle locking system has a motor vehicle lock to which the at least one sensor is assigned for detection of at least one of opening, unlocking and locking of the motor vehicle lock.

20. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the motor vehicle locking system has a control element to which the at least one sensor is assigned for detection of actuation of the control element for at least one of opening, unlocking and locking of the motor vehicle lock.

21. Motor vehicle as claimed in claim 20, wherein that at least one sensor comprises two sensors, one of which is assigned to a control element which is actuatable from the interior of the motor vehicle and a second of which is assigned to a control element which is actuatable from outside of the motor vehicle.

22. Motor vehicle locking system of a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one motor vehicle lock;

a control means; and

at least one sensor which is electrically connected to the control means for detection of one of a state of the motor vehicle lock and actuation of a control element,

wherein the sensor has at least two electrically independent and redundant outputs for transmission of redundant sensor signals,

wherein the redundant outputs are connected to the control means via respective redundant electrical signal lines so as to provide alternative means for performing the same function of the sensor in different manners in case of failure of one of the redundant outputs, and

wherein the sensor, for producing sensor signals, has at least two switching devices in parallel, at least one of the switching devices being a make contact switch and another of the switching devices being a break contact switch.

23. Motor vehicle locking system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the at least one sensor has two electrically independent outputs and the outputs are connected to two separate inputs of the control means via two separate electrical signal lines.

24. Motor vehicle locking system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the sensor, for producing sensor signals, has at least two switching devices in parallel, at least one of the switching devices being a make contact switch and another of the switching devices being a break contact switch.

25. Motor vehicle locking system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the sensor, for producing sensor signals, has at least two sensor modules and wherein the sensor modules each operate according to different sensor action principles.

26. Motor vehicle locking system as claimed in claim 22, wherein each sensor signal is resistor-coded and is subject to voltage division so that at least one a line interruption and a short circuit of a current path of the sensor signal is detectable by the control means.

27. Motor vehicle, comprising:

a control means and

at least one sensor which is electrically connected to the control means,

wherein each sensor has two electrically independent and redundant outputs for transmission of redundant sensor signals, and

wherein the redundant outputs are connected to the control means via respective redundant electrical signal lines,

wherein the control means and the at least one sensor are part of a motor vehicle locking system of the motor vehicle, and

wherein the at least one sensor, for producing the sensor signals, has at least two sensor modules, and wherein the sensor modules each operate according to different sensor action principles so as to provide alternative means for performing the same function of the at least one sensor in different manners in case of failure of one of the redundant outputs.

28. Motor vehicle locking system of a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one motor vehicle lock;

a control means; and

at least one sensor which is electrically connected to the control means for detection of one of a state of the motor vehicle lock and actuation of a control element,

wherein the sensor has at least two electrically independent and redundant outputs for transmission of redundant sensor signals,

wherein the redundant outputs are connected to the control means via respective redundant electrical signal lines so as to provide alternative functional outputs in case of failure of one of the redundant outputs, and

wherein the sensor, for producing sensor signals, has at least two sensor modules and wherein the sensor modules each operate according to different sensor action principles so as to provide alternative means for performing the same function of the at least one sensor in different manners in case of failure of one of the redundant outputs.