Abstract:
Many devices, such as a turbocharger, use an apparatus to control their functions. For example, pneumatic and electric actuators are used to provide positional control of a mechanism on the turbocharger. The actuator must connect to the vehicles electrical system to provide suitable communication and control of the actuator. They must also have internal control and interconnection of devices such as sensors, electronic control unit, external electrical connector, and internal electrical connections. The electrical connections, placement of sensor, and placement of the controller are critical to the performance, reliability, and cost of the actuator. The control and interconnection system will provide the aforementioned requirements including a “quick connect” capability for electrical connections and ease of assembly.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/646,919, filed Jan. 25, 2005. The disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a control and interconnection assembly for providing an actuator with power supply and position sensors.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many devices, such as a turbocharger, use an apparatus to control their functions. For example, pneumatic and electric actuators are used to provide positional control of mechanisms on the turbocharger to adjust and maintain the pressure within the intake manifold of an engine.  
         [0004]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic of a system using a turbocharger and an actuator to control boost pressure within the intake manifold  8  of engine  9 . The system consists of the vehicle&#39;s electronic control unit (ECU)  1 , actuator controller  2 , actuator  3 , turbocharger  4  and turbocharger control mechanism  5 . The ECU is connected to the actuator controller by a wire harness  6  having multiple conductors and connectors. The actuator controller is also connected to the actuator by a wire harness  7  having multiple conductors and connectors.  
         [0005]     The ECU  1  will provide an electrical signal to the actuator controller  2  that will indicate a desired position of actuator  3 . The actuator controller will provide the necessary electrical control to the actuator. The actuator will move the control mechanism  5  of turbocharger  4 , to the desired position that will achieve a desired pressure within the intake manifold  8  of engine  9 . Actuator  3  also has a means of sensing its position and will feedback this signal to the actuator controller  2 . A “closed loop” control scheme is used to maintain a desired actuator position by comparing the feedback value to a desired value and adjusting the control signal, to the actuator, to maintain the position and resulting boost pressure. Other signals, such as an intake manifold pressure-sensing signal may also be monitored, by ECU  1  or actuator controller  2 , and used in the “closed loop” scheme to control the intake manifold pressure. The actuator controller can also monitor the performance of the actuator and provide feedback to the ECU. For example, items such as internal actuator temperature, voltage, current, actuator resistance, response time, and number of occurrences of a fault can be monitored and communicated to another system such as the vehicle ECU. Monitoring of some items may be a legislated requirement.  
         [0006]     The electric actuator may use a D.C. motor as a means of actuation. The motor may use brushes for commutating its rotating member or it may be a brushless type motor. The brushless motor uses a number of magnetic sensors and an electrical control circuit to commutate its rotor and control its rotation. Magnetic devices, such as Hall effect devices (HED), are commonly used. The HED sensors must be in proximity to the motor&#39;s rotor and stator to effectively sense the magnetic field and provide a signal to a control circuit. The brushless motor also has a number of coils, wound with magnet wire, which must be connected to the control circuit. This type of actuator requires a number of electrical connections in addition to the accurate placement of the sensors. Control and connection methods such as separate control circuits may be difficult to assemble, costly, and undesirable. In addition, the motor, HED sensors, and control circuit may not be in one location. For example, the motor and hall sensors may be located in the actuator housing and the control circuit may be in the cover of the housing. This could require a complex interconnection system needing a multiple wire cable that may have durability and reliability issues. The following paragraphs will describe a system that will provide the required control and minimize components and interconnections. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic of a system using a turbo charger and actuator to control boost pressure within the intake manifold of an engine;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the controller and interconnect arrangement with the housing partially removed and the cover attached;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  shows another perspective view of the controller and interconnect arrangement with the housing partially removed and the cover attached;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of the control and interconnect arrangement having the housing and cover removed and the motor disconnected from the arrangement;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  shows another perspective view of the control and interconnect arrangement having the housing and cover removed and the motor disconnected from the arrangement;  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  shows a close up perspective view of the control and interconnect arrangement just prior to the motor being connected;  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  shows a side perspective view of the control and interconnect arrangement with the motor connected; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  shows an alternate embodiment of the invention depicting a perspective view of the control and interconnect arrangement having the housing cover removed and the motor circuit disconnected from the arrangement. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]     The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0017]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2-7 , various views of the present invention can be seen. The actuator or device  10  consists of a brushless D.C. motor, intermediate gear  11 , and output gear/shaft  12  that are installed in a housing  33 . Pinion gear  17  is pressed onto the motor shaft and engages intermediate gear  11 . Bearing  15  is pressed to motor shaft  16  and is located in a counter bore in the housing.  
         [0018]     Lead frame  13  and controller  14  are installed in a cover  32 . The cover  32  and a housing  33  form two portions of a casting. The casting is a housing for an actuator such as a turbocharger. Controller  14  is an electronic circuit that will provide the necessary control for the device and communicate to an external system such as a vehicle ECU. Lead frame  13  consists of formed electrical conductors  19 , supported by a plastic form  20 , HED sensors  25 , integral connector  21  and wire bond pads  28 . Integral connector  21  may be manufactured as part of plastic form  20  or connected as a separate component, to easily change the connector type for different applications. HED sensors  25  are attached to formed electrical conductors  19  by suitable means such as welding or soldering. Slotted receptacles  22  are designed and formed to receive terminals  29 , of the device  10 , and make the electrical connection to the motor. A typical slotted receptacle  22  shown in the figures. This type is referred to as an “M” slot receptacle. Electrical conductor  19  and plastic form  20  are also shown. The integral connector  21  has terminals  23  that will provide the electrical connection to an external system such as a vehicle ECU. The electrical conductors  19 , terminals  23 , and bond pads  28  may be formed as a portion of electrical conductors  19  or they may be made separately and connected by suitable means such as welding. The lead frame is secured to the cover by suitable means such as fasteners.  
         [0019]     Controller  14  is fastened to the cover by suitable means such as thermal adhesive or screws. The cover is made of a material such as aluminum that has suitable mechanical strength and thermal characteristics for transference between the controller and cover. Other devices such as transistors, field effect transistors, and voltage regulators, that are part of the controller circuit, may be fastened to the cover to achieve thermal requirements. Controller  14  is electrically connected to lead frame  13  by a suitable means such as wire bond  26 . Multiple wire bonds may be used depending upon the number of interconnections that are required. An alternate method for making the electrical connection between the lead frame  13  and controller  14  is the use of blade terminals and slotted receptacles similar to those described for making the motor-to-lead frame connection. Another method for making the connections is soldering.  
         [0020]     During the assembly of the cover to the housing, locating features such as plastic guides  24  which project from the surface of the lead frame  13  can be aligned with recessed portions  27  on the device  10 . Aligning the plastic guides  24  with the recessed portions  27  will align the motor terminals  29  with slotted receptacles  22  and HED sensors  25  with recesses  30  on the surface of the device  10 . Connecting the terminals  29  with the slotted receptacles will make the electrical connection to the lead frame  13 . Additionally sliding the HED sensors  25  into the recesses  30  will position the sensors  25  adjacent the motor rotor  35  so that the position of the device  10  can be sensed by the sensors  25 . The sensors  25  sense the position of the permanent magnet or magnetic material in the motor rotor  35 . The inclusion of the HED sensors on the lead frame has eliminated the need for a separate motor sensor circuit and interconnects. The HED sensors  25  can also be supported on the plastic guides  24 . It is also possible for the HED sensors  25  to be a different type of sensor such as an induction sensor.  
         [0021]     An alternate method for mounting the HED sensors is shown in  FIG. 8 . The HED sensors are mounted on a separate circuit  34 . The circuit may be mounted separately or it may be mounted to the lead frame  13 . Connections between the lead frame and circuit  34 , or between the control circuit and circuit  34 , are made by a suitable means such as wire bonding or soldering  36  and bond pads  28 . The slotted receptacle  22  can be formed or attached to the electrical conductors or they could also be separate components and mounted and connected to the separate circuit  34 . The circuit is made from a material such as laminated fiberglass and epoxy. Mounting separate circuit  34  in the lead frame will eliminate the need of a multiple conductor cable or other method of connecting between the lead frame and circuit  34 .  
         [0022]     The device  10 , or motor, may have  3  coils connected in a “Y” configuration. Three terminals, one from each coil, are connected together. The three terminals used for the “Y” connection do not require further connection to other components. The connection can be accomplished by interconnecting the three slotted receptacles in the lead frame. An alternative is to interconnect them on the D.C. motor. The later method will eliminate the need for  3  slotted receptacles in the lead frame.  
         [0023]     The control system will operate in the following manner. The vehicles control system will provide an electrical signal to terminals  23  of integral connector  21 . The signal is communicated to device controller  14  via electrical conductors  19 , in lead frame  20  and wire bonds  26  connected to bond pads  28 . The device controller will deliver an electrical control signal, in similar manner, to the device  10 , through the electrical connection of slotted receptacles  22  and terminals  29 . The controller  14  can monitor device characteristics such as position, temperature, voltage, current, motor resistance, response time and the number of occurrences of overheating, or high voltage. The device will develop a torque that is transmitted to shaft  16 , pinion gear  17 , intermediate gear  11  and output gear/shaft  12 . The shaft of device  10  will rotate to the desired position for controlling the turbocharger. The sense signal from the HED sensors  25  will be communicated to the controller  14 , via electrical conductors  19 , in lead frame  20 , to provide feedback for communicating and controlling the device.  
         [0024]     The HED sensors  25  can also be used to provide position control for the device. An alternate method of position control is to use a different type of sensor for example an inductive type sensor would be a suitable alternative. In this alternate embodiment the sensor would be located on one of the rotating parts, such as the output gear/shaft  12 . Other sensor components, such as the transmitter coil, receiving coil, and circuit could be located on the controller  14  or lead frame  13 .  
         [0025]     The drawings shown have identified the cover  32  and housing  33  it is within the scope of this invention for the control and interconnection system for use in a control apparatus to be applied to either cover or housing.  
         [0026]     The present interconnection arrangement allows for a method of assembly of a lead frame to a device using a quick connect type of arrangement using blade type terminals and slotted receptacles (in the lead frame). It is within the scope of this invention for the interconnect arrangement to interchange the location of the blade type terminals and the slotted receptacles within the interconnect arrangement. For example, slotted receptacles can be used on the device that will receive a blade type terminal used on the lead frame. The plastic guides and recesses formed on the surface of the device ease the alignment of the device to the lead frame so that when the guides and recesses are aligned the electrical terminals and electrical conductors as well as the sensors and device will be aligned for connection.  
         [0027]     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.