Patent Description:
A vehicle driven by an engine, which is an internal combustion engine, is equipped with different valves therein, and these valves are configured to distribute, control or regulate a variety of fluid streams according to applications such as engine cooling, indoor space cooling/heating, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), etc. In particular, a control valve built in the vehicle may be provided in a multi-valve form in order to control a coolant flow circulating the inside/outside of the engine in multiple directions.

The control valve equipped in the vehicle is typically provided with an inductive sensor, which is one of proximity sensors sensing operation of the control valve, in order to change a direction of the coolant or regulate a flow rate. Such an inductive sensor is provided to be communicated with an output shaft of an actuator connected to the control valve, thereby enabling real-time sensing the output condition of the actuator.

Meanwhile, a printed circuit board connected to the inductive sensor to sense and control the operation of the control valve is separately provided from an EMC board of a motor and causes limitation in designing the same. Accordingly, in recent years, studies for improving output control performance of the control valve while enhancing design freedom are continuously being required.

<CIT> describes an actuator according to the preamble of independent claims <NUM> and <NUM> for a vehicle which comprises a motor having a body and a shaft rotating inside the body, and a control unit including a first substrate with a hall sensor for detecting rotation of the motor and a second substrate for controlling rotation of the motor based on a signal measured by the hall sensor.

<CIT> describes a proportion adjusting electric control actuator which comprises a motor, a signal gear piece, first and second Hall sensors, a magnetic ring and a permanent magnet fixedly installed on the signal gear piece, the magnetic ring forming at least one set of N and S through radial magnetization.

An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator for a vehicle coolant control valve that ensures space and design freedoms of components for controlling a flow of coolant, thereby improving control efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an actuator for a vehicle coolant control valve that prevents output unbalance due to a sensing configuration to sense output of the actuator, thereby securing uniform sensing sensitivity.

In order to achieve the above objects, the actuators for a vehicle coolant control valve according to the present invention are defined by independent claims <NUM> and <NUM> and include a drive unit to generate driving power; an output unit to drive a control valve, which selectively opens/closes ("switches") a coolant flow for a vehicle using the driving power provided by the drive unit; and a sensing unit to sense an output condition of the output unit, wherein the sensing unit is provided with a position sensor to sense a position of the output unit and an electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) filter to filter EMC.

Further, the drive unit may include a driving source which is prepared to be adjacent to the sensing unit and has a cylindrical shape, and at least one transfer gear which is connected to the driving source to reduce a speed of the driving power and transfer the same to the output unit.

Further, the driving source may be supported on a ground plate having a rounding shape, and may have at least two ground contact points when the driving source is compressed to the ground plate, wherein one side thereof may be ground-connected to the sensing unit.

Further, the output unit may include an output gear that rotates around an output shaft by the driving power of the drive unit, wherein one side of the output shaft is fixed in the center of the position sensor by a fastening pin, while the other side may be connected to the control valve.

According to the invention, the output unit includes an output gear that rotates around the output shaft by the driving power of the drive unit; and an interference member, which is prepared to partially cover one surface of the output gear and to thus face the sensing unit and is communicated with rotation of the output gear, wherein the output gear and the interference member are made of different materials from each other.

Further, in order to compensate mass unbalance between an interference region in which the interference member of the output gear is present and a non-interference region in which the above interference member is not provided, at least one balance member is provided in the output gear.

Further, the output gear may be formed of a plastic material. According to the invention the interference member is formed to cover a part of the region at one side of the one surface of the output gear. Further, in order to compensate a difference between a mass at one side of the output gear, on which the interference member is present, and a mass at the other side of the output gear, on which the interference member is not provided, at least one balance member is provided at the other side of the output gear.

According to independent claim <NUM>, the balance member includes a plurality of ribs that are extended in a diameter direction to adjoin one another at the other side of the other surface of the output gear, on which the interference member is not provided.

According to independent claim <NUM>, the balance member includes a plurality of ribs that are extended in a diameter direction to adjoin one another at the other side of the one surface of the output gear, thereby being adjacent to the interference member.

Further, the output gear may be formed of a plastic material while the interference member may be formed to cover a part of the region at one side of the one surface of the output gear. Further, according to an example not forming part of the claimed invention, a balance member may be provided on one surface or the other surface of the output gear, wherein the balance member is prepared in a groove form inserted in a predetermined depth at one side overlapped with the interference member.

Further, the balance member may be provided to extend in a circumferential direction overlapped with the interference member.

Further, the sensing unit may include one printed circuit board in which the position sensor and the EMC filter are present, while the driving source may be connected to the printed circuit board through a connection line and thus can be connected to an external power supply.

The actuator for a vehicle coolant control valve to control a coolant flow according to one embodiment of the present invention may include: a drive unit to generate driving power; an output unit which is connected to the drive unit and drives a control valve using the driving power; and a sensing unit including a printed circuit board to sense an output condition of the output unit, wherein a position sensor to sense a position of the output unit and an electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) filter to filter EMC share the above one printed circuit board of the sensing unit.

Further, the drive unit may include: a driving source, which is provided to be adjacent to the printed circuit board so as to be electrically connected to the printed circuit board and to generate the driving power; and at least one transfer gear, which is connected to the driving source to reduce a speed of the driving power and transfer the same to the output unit, wherein the driving source is connected to the printed circuit board through a connection line, thereby being connected to an external power supply.

Further, the driving source may be supported to a ground plate having a rounding shape and may have at least two ground contact points when the driving source is compressed to the ground plate, wherein one side thereof is connected to the printed circuit board.

Further, the output unit may include: an output gear that rotates around an output shaft by the driving power of the drive unit; and the interference member, which is prepared to partially cover one surface of the output gear to thus face the printed circuit board and is communicated with rotation of the output gear, wherein the output gear and the interference member may be made of different materials from each other.

Further, one side of the output shaft may be fixed in the center of the position sensor by a fastening pin, while the other side may be connected to the control valve.

According to the present invention with the configurations as described above, a single printed circuit board may be shared between the position sensor to sense the output unit and the EMC filter to filter EMC, thereby securing a space through simplification of parts and improving EMC properties. Consequently, it is possible to increase selection freedom for components such as a gear, a motor, etc., thereby improving space and design freedom while ensuring quality of control accuracy.

Further, since a balance member, which can compensate rotational unbalance of the output unit due to mass difference caused by the interference member made of a material different from that of the output unit, is provided, it is possible to improve deterioration in output performance due to right and left asymmetrical rotation. Therefore, the balance member can contribute to securing uniform sensitivity of the sensing unit to sense the interference member provided in the output unit, thereby further contributing to improvement of control performance.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the actuator for a vehicle coolant control valve according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a drive unit <NUM>, an output unit <NUM> and a sensing unit <NUM>.

For reference, the drive unit <NUM>, the output unit <NUM> and the sensing unit <NUM> may be installed inside a housing <NUM> and may be protected by a cover not shown in the figures.

The drive unit <NUM> may generate driving power for controlling a flow of the coolant for a vehicle. For this purpose, the drive unit <NUM> may include a driving source <NUM> and at least one transfer gear <NUM> to <NUM>.

The driving source <NUM> may include a power generating means such as a motor rotating around a driving shaft 21a. The driving source <NUM> may have a cylindrical shape and may be installed in the housing <NUM> while being supported on a support plate <NUM>. Further, the driving source <NUM> may be prepared to be adjacent to the sensing unit <NUM> described later, so as to preferably filter EMC (Electro-magnetic compatibility).

Further, the driving source <NUM> may be supported on a ground plate <NUM> having a rounding shape, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, wherein one side of the ground plate <NUM> is connected to the sensing unit <NUM> described later. Herein, the ground plate <NUM> may have a rounding shape and may be compressed on an outer surface of the driving unit <NUM> having a cylindrical shape, thereby securing a wide contact area.

Moreover, in conjunction with compression of the driving source <NUM>, the ground plate <NUM> may be elastically deformed to thus secure contact points for grounding at both ends thereof. That is, the ground plate <NUM> having a rounding shape may induce ground-contact to at least two points, thereby improving ground quality of leakage current.

As such, by improving the contact ability of the driving source <NUM> to the ground plate <NUM>, noise of the driving source <NUM> occurring through electro-magnetic control may be effectively ground-removed.

Meanwhile, the present embodiment illustrates that the driving power of the driving source <NUM> is transferred to the output unit <NUM> described later by the first to fourth transfer gears <NUM> to <NUM>, however, is not particularly limited thereto. Instead, a variety of modified embodiments, wherein less than <NUM> or not less than <NUM> gears are provided between the driving source <NUM> and the output <NUM> to thus reduce a speed of the driving power in multiple stages and then transfer the same, are of course possible.

As shown in <FIG>, the first transfer gear <NUM> may be gear-connected to the driving shaft 21a of the driving source <NUM> to thus rotate by the driving power. The first transfer gear <NUM> rotates around a first transfer axis <NUM>, and a second transfer gear <NUM> may rotate while being coaxially connected to the first transfer axis <NUM>. Herein, since a diameter of the second transfer gear <NUM> is smaller than that of the first transfer gear <NUM>, a speed of the driving power of the driving source <NUM> may be reduced.

The second transfer gear <NUM> may be engaged with a third transfer gear <NUM> through gear teeth so as to transfer a rotational force of the second transfer gear <NUM> to the third transfer gear <NUM>. The third transfer gear <NUM> rotates around a second transfer axis <NUM>, and a fourth transfer gear <NUM> may rotate while being coaxially connected to the second transfer axis <NUM>. Therefore, the fourth transfer gear may rotate in conjunction with a rotational force of the third transfer gear <NUM>, wherein the fourth transfer gear <NUM> is engaged to the output unit <NUM> described later to thus finally transfer the rotational force thereto. Herein, since a diameter of the fourth transfer gear <NUM> is smaller than that of the third transfer gear <NUM>, a speed of the driving power of the driving source <NUM> may further be reduced.

As described above, the driving power of the driving source <NUM> may be reduced in multiple stages through the first to fourth transfer gears <NUM> to <NUM>, thereby finally transferring the driving power to the output unit <NUM>.

The output unit <NUM> may drive the control valve (not shown) to selectively switch the coolant flow for a vehicle by the driving power provided by the drive unit <NUM>. Herein, the output unit <NUM> may receive the driving power of the driving source <NUM> in sequential order through the first to fourth transfer gears <NUM> to <NUM>. The output unit <NUM> may include an output gear <NUM> and an interference member <NUM>.

The output gear <NUM> may rotate around an output shaft 31a by the driving power of the drive unit <NUM>. The output gear <NUM> may rotate around the output shaft 31a and may be provided with gear teeth on an outer periphery thereof in order to be engage with the fourth output gear <NUM>.

For reference, one side of the output shaft 31a of the output gear <NUM> may be supported on the sensing unit <NUM> described later, while the other side may be axially connected to the control valve not shown in the figures to thus output the driving power to the control valve (not shown).

The interference member <NUM> is prepared to cover at least a part of the region on one surface of the output gear <NUM> and is communicated with rotation of the output gear <NUM>. The interference member <NUM> may rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the output gear <NUM>, thereby being sensed by the sensing unit <NUM> described later. Sensing of the interference member <NUM> by the sensing unit <NUM> will be described later in more detail along with the configuration of the sensing unit <NUM>.

Meanwhile, as shown in <FIG>, the interference member <NUM> may be formed as a metal plate in a half-moon shape. The interference member <NUM> is prepared to cover only a part of the region on one surface of the output gear <NUM> so that a mass on the partial region of the output gear <NUM> may be increased owing to features of the metal material.

More specifically, the output gear <NUM> prepared of a plastic material may have a total mass of about <NUM>, a density of about <NUM>/m<NUM> and a volume of <NUM>. 963e - <NUM><NUM>. Alternatively, the interference member <NUM> in a half-moon shape, which is made of a metal material including stainless steel (SUS), may have a total mass of about <NUM>, a density of about <NUM>/m<NUM> and a volume of <NUM>. 018e - <NUM><NUM>. Therefore, the output gear <NUM> may have a volume of about <NUM> times and a mass of about <NUM> times compared to the interference member <NUM>. In this regard, the interference member <NUM> may be seated on one surface of the output gear <NUM> and cause rotational unbalance due to a different in weight balance between different materials of the output gear <NUM> and the interference member <NUM> when rotating the output gear <NUM>.

Briefly, since a mass at one side of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is present, is heavier than a mass at the other side, on which the interference member <NUM> is not provided, mass unbalance may occur between the one side of the output gear <NUM> and the other side thereof. If the output gear <NUM> rotates under such a state of mass unbalance, rotational unbalance such as asymmetric rotation of the output gear <NUM> may occur. Such mass unbalance of the output gear <NUM> causes deterioration in airtightness as well as rotation fault, hence entailing problems such as lowered output efficiency and leakage of coolant.

In order to prevent the rotational unbalance due to right and left mass unbalance of the output gear <NUM> provided with the interference member <NUM>, the present embodiment includes at least one balance member <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the balance member <NUM> is provided to compensate a difference between the mass at one side of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is present, and the mass at the other side of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is not provided. For this purpose, the balance member <NUM> may include a plurality of ribs at the other side of the output gear <NUM>, which are in parallel to one another in a diameter direction. The present embodiment illustrated that the ribs are present in plural at the other surface of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is not provided.

In other words, the balance member <NUM> may be formed as a plurality of ribs at the other side of the output gear <NUM> having relatively smaller mass, which are extended in a diameter direction to be in parallel to and adjacent to one another, so that a mass corresponding to the mass of the interference member <NUM> can be added to the other side of the output gear <NUM>. Therefore, the mass at one side of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is present, and the mass at the other side thereof, on which balance members <NUM> in the form of plural ribs are provided to be adjacent to but spaced from one another, are similar to each other so as to overcome mass unbalance of the output gear <NUM>.

For reference, on one surface and the other surface of the output gear <NUM>, a plurality of gear grooves 31b inserted in a determined depth on an outer surface of the output gear <NUM> may be provided to be spaced from one another in a circumferential direction. Among the plurality of gear grooves 31b, some gear grooves 31b positioned on the other surface rather than the one surface of the output gear <NUM> and disposed on the region not overlapped with the interference member <NUM> may be provided with a plurality of balance members <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the configuration of the balance members <NUM> is not particularly limited to that illustrated in <FIG>. For example, variants of the balance members <NUM>, <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, may also be possible.

First, referring to <FIG>, which does not form part of the claimed invention, a balance member <NUM> in the form of inserted groove in a predetermined depth may be present in the region overlapped with the interference member <NUM> at the other surface of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is not provided, rather than the one surface thereof. Herein, the balance member <NUM> may have a morphology extending in a circumferential direction overlapping with the interference member <NUM> and may be prepared at the other side and the other surface of the output gear <NUM>, thereby reducing a mass at the other side of the output gear <NUM>. Therefore, even if the interference member <NUM> is present at the other side of the output gear <NUM>, a difference in mass between the one side and the other side of the output gear <NUM> may be compensated by the balance member <NUM>.

For reference, the balance member <NUM> shown in <FIG> may be proposed as a variant wherein the balance member is provided at one side of one surface of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is present, rather than the other surface of the output gear <NUM>.

Further, referring to <FIG>, it is possible to implement another variant wherein a plurality of balance members <NUM> in a rib form extending in a diameter direction so as to be adjacent to one surface of the output gear <NUM>, on which the interference member <NUM> is present, may be provided. The plurality of balance members <NUM> in a rib form may compensate the mass of the output gear <NUM> in response to a mass of the interference member <NUM>, thereby securing balance during rotation of the output gear <NUM>.

The sensing unit <NUM> may sense an output condition of the output unit <NUM>. Herein, the sensing unit <NUM> may sense rotation of the interference member <NUM> made of a metal material, which is communicated with the output gear <NUM>, in addition, may filter electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC). That is, the sensing unit <NUM> may include a position sensor to sense the interference member <NUM> and an EMC filter wherein both components share a single printed circuit board PCB.

In this case, the sensing unit <NUM> is present to be adjacent to the driving source <NUM> and thus may easily filter EMC generated by the driving source <NUM>. Further, as described above, the sensing unit <NUM> is connected to a ground plate <NUM> in close contact with the driving source <NUM> so as to efficiently reduce noise of the driving source <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the sensing unit <NUM> may be provided with a connection line <NUM> for electrical connection to the driving source <NUM>. Specifically, at least a pair of connection lines <NUM> may be prepared, wherein one side is connected to the driving source <NUM> while the other side is formed as a connection terminal 41a to be connected to the sensing unit <NUM>. The connection terminal 41a of the connection line is inserted and connected in a connection hole 41b of the sensing unit <NUM> whereby the sensing unit <NUM> and the driving source <NUM> may be electrically connected to each other.

Herein, since the sensing unit <NUM> composed of a printed circuit board is connected to the driving source <NUM> through the connection line <NUM>, an external power supply may be directly transferred and connected to the driving source <NUM>. Further, since it is easy to connect the driving source <NUM> to the external power supply through the connection line <NUM>, design position freedom of the driving source <NUM> may further be increased.

As described above, the sensing unit <NUM> may be provided as a single printed circuit board in order to perform a position sensing function to sense the interference member <NUM> and an EMC filtering function, simultaneously, so that it is advantageous to secure excellent EMC properties and improve selection freedom of components such as a gear, a motor, etc. In other words, because of the sensing unit <NUM> prepared as a single printed circuit board, space and design freedom can be secured while easily ensuring the quality of control accuracy.

Further, as illustrated in <FIG>, one side of the output shaft 31a may be fixed in the center of a position sensor provided in the printed circuit board of the sensing unit <NUM> by means of a fastening pin <NUM>. Herein, the other side of the output shaft 31a may be connected to the control valve (not shown). As such, since the output shaft 31a is fixed to the sensing unit <NUM> by the fastening pin <NUM>, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a deviation due to distortion of the output shaft 31a by rotation of the output gear <NUM>, thereby securing a predetermined sensing sensitivity.

A control operation of the actuator <NUM> for a vehicle coolant control valve with the above configuration according to the present invention will be described below with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

First, when the driving power is generated by the driving source <NUM>, the driving power may be reduced in terms of speed and then transferred to the output gear <NUM> through the first to fourth transfer gears <NUM> to <NUM>. The output gear <NUM> may be rotated by the transferred driving power and output the driving power to the control valve (not shown) present on the outside, thereby controlling a flow of coolant.

Meanwhile, the interference member <NUM> is provided on one surface of the output gear <NUM>, and the interference member <NUM> is sensed by the sensing unit <NUM> facing the interference member. That is, the sensing unit <NUM> may sense the interference member <NUM> like a kind of position sensor. In this case, since the balance member <NUM> compensates a mass difference due to different materials between the output gear <NUM> and the interference member <NUM>, the output gear <NUM> may maintain balance during rotation.

The sensing unit <NUM> may perform real-time sensing of a condition of the output gear <NUM> by the sensed interference member <NUM>, while filtering EMS. At this time, the sensing unit <NUM> may be electrically inter-connected to the driving source <NUM> through a connection line <NUM>, thereby supplying external power. Moreover, the driving source <NUM> may be ground-connected to the ground plate <NUM>, and one side of the ground plate <NUM> is connected to the sensing unit <NUM>, thereby filtering and removing noise of the driving source <NUM>.

As described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the embodiments, however, it could be understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the present invention can be variously altered and modified within a range not departing from the scope of the present invention described in the following claims.

Claim 1:
An actuator (<NUM>) for a vehicle coolant control valve, comprising:
a drive unit (<NUM>) to generate driving power;
an output unit (<NUM>) to drive a control valve, which selectively opens/closes a coolant flow for a vehicle using the driving power provided by the drive unit (<NUM>); and
a sensing unit (<NUM>) to sense an output condition of the output unit (<NUM>),
wherein the sensing unit (<NUM>) is provided with a position sensor to sense a position of the output unit (<NUM>) and an electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) filter to filter EMC
wherein the output unit (<NUM>) includes:
an output gear (<NUM>) that rotates around an output shaft (31a) by the driving power of the drive unit (<NUM>); and
an interference member (<NUM>), which is prepared to partially cover one surface of the output gear (<NUM>) and to thus face the sensing unit (<NUM>) and is communicated with rotation of the output gear (<NUM>),
wherein the output gear (<NUM>) and the interference member (<NUM>) are made of different materials from each other,
characterised in that
at least one balance member (<NUM>) is provided in the output gear (<NUM>) in order to compensate mass unbalance between an interference region in which the interference member of the output gear is present and a non-interference region in which the above interference member is not provided,
wherein the interference member (<NUM>) is formed to cover a part of the region at one side of the one surface of the output gear (<NUM>) and the
at least one balance member (<NUM>) is provided at the other side of the output gear (<NUM>) in order to compensate a difference between a mass at one side of the output gear, on which the interference member (<NUM>) is present, and a mass at the other side of the output gear, on which the interference member is not provided, and
wherein the balance member (<NUM>) includes a plurality of ribs that are extended in a diameter direction to adjoin one another at the other side of the other surface of the output gear, on which the interference member (<NUM>) is not provided.