Leopold Kostal Gmbh & Co. Kg

Klaus Nieding

Klaus Hirschfeld

Anton Mindl

Frank Blasing

Detlef Kerkmann

Frank Bl&auml;sing

Martin Deitmerg

Frank Bläsing

Holger Lettmann

Ralf B&ouml;bel

Ralf Böbel

Rüdiger Menz

A steering wheel () for a motor vehicle includes a steering wheel module () supporting electrical/electronic subassemblies (). The steering wheel module is inserted from a front side of the steering wheel into a center of the steering wheel in order to be attached to the steering wheel. A lower end of the steering wheel module forms a torsion module () of a torque detection device for a steering power-assist system. The torsion module is operable to receive and be attached to a steering spindle () of a steering column on the back side of the steering wheel in order to attach the steering wheel to the steering spindle when the steering wheel module is attached to the steering wheel.

Steering wheel for a motor vehicle

A torsion module includes first and second rings ( ) and a spoked wheel ( ). The first ring is attachable to a steering wheel ( ). The spoked wheel is attached on top and bottom sides to the rings and has bending spokes which join a rim to a hub. The bending spokes bend in response to rotation angle offset between the hub and rim caused by torque on the steering wheel. A sensor, placed on a bending spoke, generates a signal indicative of bending experienced by the bending spoke in response to rotation angle offset between the hub and rim. The spoked wheel includes bending-resistant limit stop spokes each having a free end. The free ends engage the rim to limit rotation angle offset between the hub and rim. The rings have axially separated limit stops which enclose the free ends to prevent axial movement between the hub and rim.

Torsion module of a torque detection device

The invention proposes a steering device for a motor vehicle which contains an inductive module for the contactless transmission of electric energy and data between the motor vehicle and the steering wheel, for measuring the rotational angle of the steering wheel and for generating torque between the motor vehicle and the steering wheel, with the inductive module containing a stator that is connected to the motor vehicle in a torsionally rigid fashion and a rotor that is connected to the steering wheel in a torsionally rigid fashion. Such a device should be realized in the form of a compact unit that has a very small space requirement due to the utilization of inductive principles, with said unit consisting of only a few components such that it can be manufactured in a particularly inexpensive fashion. This unit is based on an inductive module that contains a resolver-based rotation sensor and an annular rotary-field motor, with the stator and the rotor containing coils that cooperate with one another in such a way that an inductive coupling exists between the respective coils on the stator side, which are provided for realizing the rotation sensor function and the rotary-field motor function, and the respectively assigned coils on the rotor side.

Steering device for a motor vehicle

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Halver, Germany

Klaus Nieding