US 11,919,445 B2
Vehicle steering wheel system with an energy-saving electromechanical triggering device for triggering an acoustic output
Oliver Katzenberger, Burglauer (DE); Stefan Wahl, Bad Neustadt a.d. Saale (DE); Dirk Ruetzel, Ebersburg (DE); Martin Schäfer, Hohenroth (DE); and Sebastian Schrenk, Oberelsbach-Ginolfs (DE)
Assigned to PREH GMBH, Bad Neustadt A. D. Saale (DE)
Appl. No. 17/442,298
Filed by Preh GmbH, Saale (DE)
PCT Filed Feb. 17, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/054062
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 23, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/200570, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 8, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2019 108 462.8 (DE), filed on Apr. 1, 2019; and application No. 10 2019 117 066.4 (DE), filed on Jun. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0153192 A1, May 19, 2022
Int. Cl. B60Q 5/00 (2006.01); B60R 16/03 (2006.01); G01L 5/22 (2006.01); G08B 21/18 (2006.01); B60R 21/203 (2006.01); B60R 21/215 (2011.01)
CPC B60Q 5/003 (2013.01) [G01L 5/221 (2013.01); G08B 21/182 (2013.01); B60R 16/03 (2013.01); B60R 21/203 (2013.01); B60R 21/215 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle steering wheel system, comprising:
a steering wheel body with a hub region for attachment to a steering shaft of a vehicle steering system, with a steering wheel rim and with at least one spoke for attaching the steering wheel rim to the hub region;
an electromechanical triggering device for triggering an acoustic output by an acoustic warning device of the vehicle, wherein the electromechanical triggering device has an impact absorber cover, which is disposed on the steering wheel body and covers the hub region at least partially while forming an actuating surface, wherein the impact absorber cover is mounted on the steering wheel body so as to be at least one of displaceable, in an elastically self-resetting manner, under the influence of an actuating force on the actuating surface in the direction of the hub region, and deformable, in an elastically self-resetting manner, in the direction of the hub region;
wherein the electromechanical triggering device further has a plurality of force transducers, each of which is disposed between the impact absorber cover and the steering wheel body and via which the impact absorber cover is supported on the steering wheel body, for measuring a force value that can be associated with the actuating force acting on the actuating surface of the impact absorber cover;
wherein the electromechanical triggering device further has, for each of at least two of the force transducers, a respective electronic evaluation system, each of the electronic evaluation systems being connected in an electrically conductive manner to its respective force transducer and also to an evaluation unit, which is superordinate to the electronic evaluation systems and can be selectively operated in an energy-saving mode and an operating mode, wherein each of the electronic evaluation systems is connected to the evaluation unit via at least one data connection, wherein a force value threshold is predefined for each force transducer and a wake-up signal is transmitted via the at least one data connection to the evaluation unit exclusively when the force value threshold is exceeded by at least one force value, so that the evaluation unit changes from the energy-saving mode into the operating mode in which an actuating force value is determined by means of the force value measured by at least one of the force transducers in order to trigger the acoustic output of the acoustic warning device of the vehicle when a predefined actuating force value is exceeded.