Electrical switch having six switch positions and vehicle seat having said switch

• US 8,822,853 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Jahn, Michael, Nitschmann, Sandor, Speckner, Martin, Wauschek, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): LEON MUNOZ, EDWIN A
• Application Number:
  US13/202,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20120073939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,659 Days
• Field of Search: 200/17.R, 200/4, 200/512, 200/5.R, 200/5.A, 200/6.R, 200/6.A, 200/18, 200/329
• US Class Current: 200/17.R
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0228 Hand-activated mechanical switches B60N2/0229 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04714 with orthogonal axes
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04744 Switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 25/002 having an operating member rectilinearly slidable in different directions

Abstract

An electrical switch, in particular a seat adjustment switch, has an activation element (7) and four signal receivers (6), wherein the switch has a total of six switch positions, wherein each of the switch positions is defined by the activation of a combination of two signal receivers.

Claims

1. A control unit for the electrical adjustment of a movable element of a motor vehicle, wherein:

the movable element has three degrees of freedom of movement;

the control unit comprises four independently-actuatable signal receivers and defines six different switch positions,

wherein each of the six different switch positions is defined by the actuation of a unique combination of two of the four independently-actuatable signal receivers, and

wherein at least one of the independently-actuatable signal receivers is actuated in at least two different switch positions.

2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the four signal receivers are arranged substantially in one plane at the four corners of a square, wherein the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the first signal receiver is designated as the second signal receiver, the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the second signal receiver is designated as the third signal receiver and the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the third signal receiver is designated as the fourth signal receiver.

3. The control unit according to claim 2, wherein

the first switch position of the control unit is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the first and the second signal receiver,

the second switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the second and the third signal receiver,

the third switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the third and the fourth signal receiver,

the fourth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the fourth and the first signal receiver,

the fifth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the first and the third signal receiver and

the sixth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the second and the fourth signal receiver.

4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit also has art actuating element for actuating in each case two signal receivers.

5. The control unit according to claim 4, wherein the actuating element is realized as an adjustment button with four continuations, wherein the adjustment button has six switch positions which correspond to the six switch positions of the control unit.

6. The control unit according to claim 5, wherein through at least one of translation and rotation the adjustment button is transferable from one switch position into another switch position.

7. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement of the movable element represent three degrees of freedom of translation.

8. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement of the movable element are arranged into two degrees of freedom of translation and one degree of freedom of rotation.

9. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the signal receivers are realized as pushbutton switches.

10. The control unit according to claim 1,

wherein the movable element is realized as a seat for a passenger.

11. The control unit according to claim 10, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement represent the movement of the seat up or down, to the right or to the left and to the front or the rear.

12. The control unit according to claim 10, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement represent the movement of the seat up or down, to the front or the rear and the rotation of the back rest.

13. A motor vehicle seat with at least one control unit for the electrical adjustment of the motor vehicle seat, wherein:

the vehicle seat has three degrees of freedom of movement;

the at least one control unit comprises four independently-actuatable signal receivers and defines six different switch positions, and

wherein each of the six different switch positions is defined by the actuation of a unique combination of two of the four independently-actuatable signal receivers, and

wherein at least one of the in dependently-actuatable signal receivers is actuated in at least two different switch positions.

14. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 13, wherein the four signal receivers are arranged substantially in one plane at the four corners of a square, wherein the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the first signal receiver is designated as the second signal receiver, the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the second signal receiver is designated as the third signal receiver and the signal receiver arranged clockwise after the third signal receiver is designated as the fourth signal receiver.

15. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 14, wherein

the first switch position of the control unit is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the first and the second signal receiver,

the second switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the second and the third signal receiver,

the third switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the third and the fourth signal receiver,

the fourth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the fourth and the first signal receiver,

the fifth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the first and the third signal receiver and

the sixth switch position is defined by the simultaneous actuation of the second and the fourth signal receiver.

16. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 13, wherein the control unit also has an actuating element for actuating in each case two signal receivers.

17. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 16, wherein the actuating element is realized as an adjustment button with four continuations, wherein the adjustment button has six switch positions which correspond to the six switch positions of the control unit.

18. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 17, wherein through at least one of translation and rotation the adjustment button is transferable from one switch position into another switch position.

19. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 13, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement of the vehicle seat represent three degrees of freedom of translation.

20. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 13, wherein the three degrees of freedom of movement of the vehicle seat are arranged into two degrees of freedom of translation and one degree of freedom of rotation.