Mannesmann Vdo Ag

Norbert Fleischhauer

Gregor Hassler

Reinhold Berberich

A modular central electrical unit for motor vehicles, comprising an electrically insulating base body ( ) having plug locations ( ), which are formed on the outer wall of the base body ( ), for accommodating an electrical and an electromechanical functional unit, which plug locations are connected to one another and to a cable harness ( ) and/or an electronic functional unit ( ). In a central electrical unit, which can be upgraded and/or modified without any additional space requirement, an electrical connection ( ) which passes out of the base body ( ) is such that it overhangs the base body ( ), and a base body segment ( ), which is formed from a plug body of a vehicle component ( ) that is to be connected and is composed of insulating material, is mechanically attached to the base body ( ), with the base body segment ( ) and/or the fitted functional unit ( ) being electrically connected to the electrical connection ( ).

Modular central electrical unit for motor vehicles

Method for determining the vertical distance between an object and a device with a variable position

A system and method for determining the distance between an object and a device of varying location, in which a first or second sensor arranged on the device emits a signal which is reflected by the object. The reflected signal is received by the sensor transmitting the signal and by the respective other sensor, and an evaluation device determines the propagation times between the transmission of the signal and the reception of the signal for each sensor and determines therefrom all the possible positions of the objects relative to the device of varying location referred to the sensor. The distance from the motor vehicle being determined from the corresponding positions of the measurements. A highly accurate result of the distance measurement is permitted in conjunction with a minimum evaluation time, the evaluation device determines corresponding positions from the measured data in a first, very accurate evaluation method and subsequently determines further corresponding positions on the remaining unverified measured data in a second, less accurate evaluation method.

Growing community of inventors

Eschborn, Germany

Norbert Fleischhauer