Way sensors are used in various technical applications. A typical application includes mechanical gearboxes where the gear wheels are shifted by way of shifting forks, which are connected to manually, semi-automatically or automatically actuated, horizontally displaceable shift rails. The displacement of a shift rail detected by way of the way sensor arrangement is processed further as a way signal in a functional control unit, for example, in order to optimize the synchronization process in a synchronized transmission.
A synchronized gearbox is already known from DE 196 52 971 A1 where, in addition to the mechanical synchronizing devices, a drive device for modifying the rotational speed of a jack shaft is provided, with the aid of which a rotational speed adaptation of the shafts to be coupled with each other is supposed to be brought about during a gear change. Way signals of the shift rail activated during a gear change are input in the functional control unit and the drive device, among other things. The aforementioned publication contains no information about the exact configuration of the way sensor arrangement.
In conventional way, the sensor housing is mounted to a first component and, separately from this, the sensor carriage is mounted to a second component.
The term “sensor housing” is interpreted below as that part of the way sensor arrangement which records the displacement of the sensor carriage and forwards it as a way signal to the functional control unit, for example, via a printed circuit board with transmitting coil arranged therein. The disadvantage with such way sensor arrangements is that in addition, assembly is required for the separate installation of the sensor carriage. Above and beyond this, the risk that the installation of the sensor carriage is accidentally omitted during manufacture of the gearbox cannot be ruled out, particularly when the assembly is performed in a different location than the assembly of the sensor housing. Another disadvantage is that the interface between the sensor carriage and sensor housing is difficult to manage, i.e., that a zero point adjustment of the two components in relation to each other is difficult to achieve, and that varying air gap tolerances between the first and second components caused by manufacturing tolerances may impair the transmission of the signal, particularly that larger air gap tolerances impact negatively on signal accuracy.
Against this background, it is the object of the invention to create a way sensor arrangement as well as a method for the assembly thereof, which have the following advantages compared to conventional systems: assembly is supposed to be simpler and more reliable; the interface and air gap tolerance problems are supposed to be reduced; the sensor carriage is supposed to remain attached captively to the sensor housing at all times, and the sensor carriage is supposed to be connected easily to the second component without separate assembly.