US20150035457A1 - Furniture arrangement and a method for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives of a furniture arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a furniture arrangement (200) comprising at least two pieces of furniture (1, 1′), each respectively having an electromotive furniture drive (100, 100′) for adjusting at least one movable part (4, 5) of each at least two pieces of furniture (1, 1′), wherein each electromotive furniture drive (100, 100′) comprises a) at least one adjusting drive (7, 7′; 8, 8′) with respectively at least one electric motor, a speed-reducing gear mechanism coupled thereto and to which an output element is drivingly coupled, said output element being linearly displaceable and/or can be rotated, and b) at least one control device (9, 9′), wherein c) the furniture arrangement (200) comprises an operating unit (10) for actuating all the electric motors of the adjusting drive (7, 7′; 8, 8′) of the electromotive furniture drive (100, 100′). Said control devices (9, 9′) of electromotive furniture drives (100, 100′) are equipped with detection means for detecting actuation-specific values such as the motor current, motor operating voltage, motor speed or similar of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive (7, 7′; 8, 8′) and comprising at least one controlling device for variably controlling the operating voltage of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive (7, 7′; 8, 8′) for a parallel control of the at least one adjusting drive (7, 8) of one of the electromotive furniture drives (100) and of the at least one adjusting drive (7′, 8′) of the other electromotive furniture drive (100′). Said control devices (9, 9′) are designed to communicate with the operating unit (10, 10′) and between themselves, or to communicate between themselves by means of the operating unit (10, 10′) with at least one transmission path (21, 22, 23, 23a, 23′). The invention also relates to the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives (100, 100′) of a furniture arrangement (200).

Description

• The invention relates to a furniture arrangement, comprising at least two pieces of furniture according to the preamble ofclaim1. The invention also relates to a method for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives of a furniture arrangement.
• Furniture with several supporting surfaces for supporting a person situated on the piece of furniture is widely known and used as beds, sofas, chairs and the like. These pieces of furniture comprise at least one movable supporting surface which is movably mounted relative to at least one further supporting surface. The movable supporting surface is a backrest part and/or a leg part which is adjustable by means of at least one electromotive furniture drive. For this purpose, the movable supporting surface can be pivotable, displaceable or both by means of a suitable fitting. It is also possible that a base element such as a bed frame is arranged in a height-adjustable fashion with one or several furniture drives.
• An electromotive furniture drive comprises at least one electric motor, which is frequently arranged as a commutator DC motor. The motor is provided downstream with a gear, wherein usually a DC gear motor is used. The electromotive furniture drive further comprises an operating unit and a control unit. The operating unit can be arranged in a wire-bound or wireless manner and comprise a number of pushbuttons, which upon actuation supply via signal transmission a control signal for electrically triggering the respective motor in the respective direction of rotation.
• Furniture arrangements are arrangements of furniture such as two beds or double beds situated adjacent to each other. Every adjustable piece of furniture is usually provided with an electromotive furniture drive with at least one adjusting drive, a control device and an operating unit.
• A number of motors are connected to a number of control units and jointly form a drive set, which is also known as an electromotive furniture drive. A three-motor bed comprises a drive set (furniture drive) with three adjusting drives. There are also adjusting drives with an integrated control unit, to which further drives can be connected.
• DE 93 194 84 U1 describes two individual beds with one respective electromotive furniture drive each. The furniture drives or drive sets are connected to each other in a controlled fashion by a line for power supply, wherein additional contacts for the conduction of switching signals to the power supply connections are provided. It is possible in this process to control with an operating unit the adjusting drives of both electromotive furniture drives and drive sets.
• Synchronous control of adjusting drives comprises at least two adjusting drives of a common drive set (electromotive furniture drive) with a common control device. Both adjusting drives are activated and displaced simultaneously for example for height adjustment of a tabletop with two adjusting drives. Synchronous control is used for the purpose that both adjusting drives have the same adjusting speed, so that there is no inclined positioning of the tabletop. If the motor of the one adjusting drive has a lower speed due to higher load than the motor of the other adjusting drive, the speed of the faster motor is reduced by suitable measures of the common control device. In this process, the speed of the faster motor is reduced by means of PWM (pulse-width modulation).
• In contrast to synchronous control, at least two adjusting drives, of which each belongs to a separate drive set, are displaced simultaneously (i.e. in parallel) in the case of parallel control. Each adjusting drive comprises a separate control device.
• Several drive sets can only be connected with difficulty to each other according to the state of the art because
• • the level of mounting work increases extremely (additional plug connections for each control unit, additional cable connections between the control units, additional mounting work for laying cables between two or more pieces of furniture);
  • increased level of programming work (synchronous controls according to the state of the art are implemented by microprocessor control, the communication with a further control unit must be adjusted according to the criteria of the bus connection for example).
• Each drive set is inserted into a piece of furniture (e.g. two single beds). It is also possible to use several drive sets in a piece of furniture (e.g. double bed or concatenation of several lifting tables).
• It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved furniture arrangement with the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives (i.e. drive sets).
• This object is achieved by a furniture arrangement with the features ofclaim1.
• It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved method for parallel control.
• This object is achieved by a method with the features ofclaim9.
• The control devices of the electromotive furniture drives are equipped with detection means for detecting drive-specific values such as motor current, motor operating voltage, motor speed of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive for parallel control, and can communicate among each other and with the operating unit, or among each other via the operating unit. This provides a simple solution, wherein the same drive sets can be connected in furniture arrangements for parallel control.
• Accordingly, a furniture arrangement in accordance with the invention comprises at least two piece of furniture with one respective electromotive furniture drive for adjusting at least one movable part of each of the at least two pieces of furniture, wherein each electromotive furniture drive comprises a) at least one adjusting drive with at least one respective electric motor, a revolution speed reducing gear mechanism which is coupled thereto and which ensures that an output element is drivingly coupled and can be linearly displaced and/or rotatably moved, and b) at least one control device, wherein c) the furniture arrangement comprises an operating unit for actuating all electric motors of the adjusting drives of the electromotive furniture drives. The control devices of the electromotive furniture drives are provided with detection means for detecting drive-specific values such as motor current, motor operating voltage, motor speed or the like of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive, and with at least one final control device for the variable setting of the operating voltage of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive for parallel control of the at least one adjusting drive of the one electromotive furniture drive and of the at least one adjusting drive of the other electromotive furniture drive. The control devices are arranged for communication with the operating unit and among each other, or for communication among each other via the operating unit with at least one transmission link.
• This allows simple connection of the control signals originating from a number of manual switches to the respective pieces of furniture or to the respective drive set.
• It is advantageous if at least one transmission link is arranged in a bidirectional manner. Each drive set comprises a bidirectional transmission link to the operating unit or also to a number of operating units, and to a number of drive sets or electromotive furniture drives.
• In one embodiment, at least one control device is arranged according to the detected drive-specific values for the transmission of corresponding signals via the at least one transmission link. This allows communication in a simple way.
• It is further advantageous if each further control device and the operating unit is arranged for receiving the corresponding signals transmitted by the at least one control device.
• It is provided in a further embodiment that at least one control device comprises a program for the variable setting of the operating voltage of at least one electric motor of the at least one adjusting drive, thus enabling simple setting of a speed of the electric motor.
• It is further provided that the final control device for the variable setting of the operating voltage of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive is provided with a PWM control unit and/or with at least one switchable electric series resistor in series with the electric motor.
• The control devices can advantageously communicate among each other when the at least one control device of the one electromotive drive is coupled to the at least one control device of the other one of the electromotive drives via a transmission link.
• The transmission links can be arranged in a wireless and/or wire-bound manner. This allows the use of even different drive sets.
• Every drive set or every electromotive furniture drive comprises a control program. All control programs are arranged by means of the bidirectional transmission links for communication among each other. As a result, an exchange of the adjusting parameters (path, angle, current, voltage) of several “drive sets” can advantageously occur among each other. The communication can occur directly between the control units and/or via the manual switches as a common communication centre.
• A method in accordance with the invention for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives of the furniture arrangement as described above comprises the following method steps: (S1) detection of the current adjusting positions of the operated motors of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel; (S2) communication of the current actual positions of the operating motors of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel between the control devices and comparison of said current actual positions; (S3) parallel control of the operated motors of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel by throttling a recognized advancing motor of the adjusting drives to be controlled or acceleration of the trailing motor to a higher speed.
• In one embodiment, the actual positions are compared in the second method step (S2) with previously determinable values, e.g. values in tables. The values in tables are advantageous because they can be determined in advance in a simple way.
• It is provided in a further embodiment that in the third method step (S3) a throttling of the advancing motor or an acceleration of the respectively trailing motor occurs with the intensity of a previously determinable value, e.g. a value stored in a table. Since the values in the table have already been prepared in advance, a calculation or determination via algorithms for example is not necessary so that time is saved.
• In yet a further embodiment, the communication between the control devices and the operating unit or between one of the control devices and the operating unit occurs in the second method step (S2), thereby increasing the range of use.
• The invention will be explained in closer detail by reference to the enclosed drawings wherein:
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an exemplary piece of furniture;
• FIGS. 2-2ashow schematic perspective views of embodiments of the operating units;
• FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of an exemplary furniture arrangement;
• FIGS. 4-4ashow schematic block diagrams of parallel control arrangements in accordance with the invention of electromotive furniture drives with wireless operating units;
• FIGS. 5-5ashow schematic block diagrams of parallel control arrangements in accordance with the invention of electromotive furniture drives with wire-bound operating units, and
• FIG. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of a method in accordance with the invention for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives of a furniture arrangement.
• FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a piece offurniture1 in accordance with the invention.FIGS. 2 and 2ashow schematic perspective views of anoperating unit10,10′.
• The piece offurniture1 is shown as a bed in this case and comprises at least onesupport element3 for accommodating items, upholstery, a mattress M and/or a person. Thesupport element3 is arranged as a slatted base, as a flat support surface or the like for example and is attached to abase element2, which is a frame with feet in this case, for coupling the piece offurniture1 to an installation site, e.g. a floor.
• Thesupport element3 comprises abackrest part4 and aleg part5, which are arranged in a movably mounted manner relative to thesupport element3 and/or a further support element or relative to thebase element2. This movable arrangement is realized in this case by means of a so-calledmotion fitting6. The movement is arranged to be displaceable and/or pivotable.
• The piece offurniture1 further comprises anelectromotive furniture drive100, which in this case comprises two adjustingdrives7 and8, acontrol device9 and anoperating unit10. The operatingunit10 is arranged in a wireless manner in this example.
• The movably mountedbackrest part4 and theleg part5 are respectively coupled to an adjustingdrive7,8. As a result, thebackrest part4 is coupled to the adjustingdrive7. The adjustingdrive8 is provided for moving or adjusting theleg part5.
• Thelinear drives7,8 are arranged as linear drives. The linear drives comprise one or several electric motors, wherein each motor is provided downstream with a revolution speed reducing gear mechanism with at least one gear step. The speed reducing gear mechanism can be provided downstream with a further gear, e.g. in form of a threaded spindle mechanism, which produces a linear movement of anoutput element19 from the rotary movement of the motor. The last gear element or any further gear element connected thereto forms the output element. The output element of the respective adjusting drive is in connection with the respective furniture component (backrest part4, leg part5) or alternatively with a component connected to thebase frame2, so that themovable furniture components4,5 are adjusted relative to each other or relative to thebase frame2 during operation of the electric motor of therespective adjusting drive7,8.
• The adjusting drives7,8 are connected to thecontrol device9 via arespective drive line100a, as shown inFIG. 4. Saiddrive line100acan be arranged as a pluggable cable connection for example. Thecontrol device9 comprises an electric supply unit (not shown), which provides electric power, e.g. from the grid, for the adjusting drives7,8. For this purpose, thecontrol device9 is connectable to a mains connection via a mains cable with a mains plug. The mains cable is not shown, but can easily be imagined. The mains plug supplies the mains voltage on the input side via the mains cable to the electric supply unit of thecontrol device9, which supplies a low voltage in form of a DC voltage on the secondary side and transmits this voltage to a motor control unit (also not shown) with control switches.
• As an alternative, thecontrol device9 is provided upstream with a mains-dependent voltage supply with mains input (not shown in closer detail) and with a low voltage output on the secondary side, which supplies a low voltage in form of a DC voltage via the line9d.
• The piece offurniture1 is further associated with an operatingunit10,10′, whosecontrol elements12,13 (FIG. 2) control the adjusting drives7,8 via thecontrol device9.
• The operatingunit10 according toFIG. 2 is provided with a transmitter device or transmitter/receiver device for wireless transmission. The wireless transmission can be atransmission link23,23′ (seeFIGS. 5,5a,5b) with radio transmission, optical transmission (e.g. infrared) and/or an ultrasonic sound transmission, wherein thecontrol device9 is provided with arespective transmission unit9a,9′a(seeFIG. 5 for example).
• In another embodiment, the operatingunit10′ is arranged with an operatingline18 in a wire-bound form, which is shown inFIG. 2a. The operatingline18 can be connected to thecontrol device9, e.g. by a plug-in connection. This is shown inFIG. 4aby way of example.
• The operatingunit10,10′ is provided withoperating elements12,13, which are provided for operating arespective adjusting drive7,8. The operatingelements12,13 are arranged as pushbuttons for example. The operatingelements12 are used for moving the respectively movable furniture part in an upward direction for example and theoperating elements13 for lowering the respectively movable furniture part.FIGS. 2 and 2ashow the operatingunits10,10′ for six adjusting drives.
• The operatingunit10,10′ is further provided with anindicator element14, e.g. a light-emitting diode. Theindicator element14 is used for displaying functionality, feedback, error display etc.
• Anadditional operating element15, which can also consist of several operating elements and/or a combination operating element, is used for a so-called memory function of the adjusting drives7,8.
• Furthermore, additional functions such as a reading lamp and/or heating can be controlled by means of furtheradditional operating elements16,17.
• Theadditional operating elements15,16,17 can be arranged as pushbuttons and/or switches.
• When anoperating element12,13 is actuated, a control signal is transmitted for triggering therespective adjusting drive7,8 via thetransmission link23,23′ in a wireless or wired-bound fashion to thecontrol device9. Thecontrol device9 comprises control switches with switching elements for the electric motors of the adjusting drives7,8, which control switches convert the control signals of the transmission link into switching signals for switching therespective adjusting drive7,8. The switching elements can be relay switches and/or semiconductor switches for example. The operatingelements12,13 of the operatingunit10, which can be actuated manually, generate control signals which are converted in this case by thetransmission unit9a,9′aof thecontrol device9 into control currents for the switching elements. In the case of the wire-boundoperating unit10′, the operatingelements12,13 switch the control current of the relay switches or semiconductor switches. In both cases, the power switches of the relay switches or the semiconductor switches switch the high motor current of therespective adjusting drive7,8. An embodiment is also possible in which the motor currents flow directly through the contacts of theoperating elements12,13 of the operatingunit10.
• The adjusting drives7,8 are arranged as commutator DC motors or comprise such motors.
• A back-EMF of the respective motor of an adjustingdrive7,8 is detected for so-called memory control and/or synchronous control for several adjusting drives7,8, wherein an evaluation of so-called ripples of the back-EMF is carried out. A method in this connection is also described in closer detail in thedocument DE 10 2009 059 267 A1, wherein reference is made to this document.
• For the purpose of detecting the back-EMF of the motor M1, a voltage, which drops at the resistor R1 as a result of the motor current flowing through the resistor during the operation of the motor M1, is measured at the connections of the resistor.
• Synchronous control of adjusting drives comprises at least two adjusting drives of anelectromotive furniture drive100 with acommon control device9. Both adjusting drives are activated and displaced simultaneously for example for height adjustment of a tabletop with two adjusting drives. The synchronous control is used for the purpose that both adjusting drives have the same adjusting speed, so that there is no inclination of the tabletop. If the motor of the one adjusting drive has a lower speed due to higher load than the motor of the other adjusting drive, the speed of the faster motor is reduced by suitable measures of thecommon control device9. In this process, the speed of the faster motor is reduced by means of PWM (pulse-width modulation).
• In contrast to synchronous control, parallel control will now be explained in connection withFIG. 3.
• FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of anexemplary furniture arrangement200 with two pieces offurniture1,1′ which are positioned adjacent to each other and which are respectively arranged as a bed according toFIG. 1.
• Thefurniture arrangement200 comprises at least two pieces offurniture1 and1′. The pieces offurniture1,1′ are arranged identically. They can also be arranged as a double bed. The piece offurniture1 on the left side inFIG. 3 comprises anelectromotive furniture drive100 with two adjustingdrives7,8 and onecontrol device9. Similarly, the piece offurniture1′ on the right-hand side is provided with anelectromotive furniture drive100′ with two adjustingdrives7′,8′ of acontrol device9′. Both electromotive furniture drives100,100′ are usually equipped with an operatingunit10. In this case, only one operatingunit10 is provided with which both electromotive furniture drives100 and100′ can be operated. The other operating unit is not needed.
• For this purpose, a parallel control in accordance with the invention of at least two adjustingdrives7,7′ is provided. The adjusting drives7,7′ belong to different electromotive furniture drives1 and1′. This means that the one adjustingdrive7 of the firstelectromotive furniture drive1 is connected to thecontrol device9 of the firstelectromotive furniture drive1, wherein the other adjusting drive7′ of the secondelectromotive furniture drive1′ is connected to thecontrol device9′ of the secondelectromotive furniture drive1′. This configuration is shown inFIGS. 4,4aand4band will be explained below in closer detail in connection with these drawings.
• Parallel control is provided in this example both for the adjusting drives7 and7′ and also for the adjusting drives8 and8′ for onerespective leg part5,5′ of a piece offurniture1,1′. In other words, the adjusting drives7 and7′ and also the adjusting drives8 and8′ can respectively be actuated by asingle operating unit10 simultaneously. It is necessary in this respect that both thebackrest parts4,4′ and also theleg parts5,5′ are respectively adjusted at the same speed or at least at very similar speeds. In the event of an advancingadjusting drive7, the adjusting speed (i.e. the speed of this motor) is reduced in relation to the motor of theslower adjusting drive7′.
• FIGS. 4 to 4bshow schematic block diagrams of embodiments of parallel control arrangements in accordance with the invention of electromotive furniture drives100,100′ withwireless operating units10.FIGS. 5 to 5ashow schematic block diagrams of embodiments of parallel control arrangements in accordance with the invention of electromotive furniture drives100,100′ with wire-boundoperating units10.
• The oneadjusting drive7 is connected via thedrive line100ato thefirst control device9. The other adjusting drive7′ is connected via thedrive line100′ato thesecond control device9′.
• FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment in which theoperating unit10 communicates with the twocontrol devices9 and9′. A firstwireless transmission link23 is arranged between the operatingunit10 and atransmission unit9aof thefirst control device9. A secondwireless transmission link23′ exists between the operatingunit10 and atransmission unit9′aof thesecond control device9′.
• The wireless transmission links23 and23′ are bidirectional transmission links, wherein thetransmission units9aand9′aare arranged for transmitting and receiving data.
• By actuating the operatingunit10, the control signals are transmitted simultaneously via the twotransmission links23 and23′ to thecontrol devices9 and9′ in order to simultaneously activate and deactivate the adjusting drives7 and7′.
• FIG. 4ashows a second embodiment, wherein only onebidirectional transmission link23 is arranged between the operatingunit10 and thetransmission unit9aof thefirst control device9. A connection to thesecond control device9′ is provided by means of a bidirectionalwireless transmission link21 betweentransmission units9band9′bof thefirst control device9 andsecond control device9′.
• When the operatingunit10 is actuated, a control signal is transmitted at first via thetransmission link23 to thetransmission unit9aof thefirst control device9, which then relays this signal to the connected adjustingdrive7 and via thetransmission unit9bto thesecond control device9′, which on its part simultaneously controls thesecond adjusting drive7′.
• In the embodiment according toFIG. 4b, thetransmission link21 between thecontrol devices9 and9′ is arranged in a wire-bound way. Only thefirst control device9 comprises awireless transmission unit9afor communication with the operatingunit10.
• FIG. 5 shows a parallel control arrangement of two electromotive furniture drives100,100′ with therespective control device9,9′ and onerespective adjusting drive7,7′. The adjusting drives7,7′ are respectively connected (as already shown inFIGS. 4 to 4b) to one of thecontrol devices9,9′ by onerespective drive line100a,100′a. This connection can also be arranged rigidly as a pluggable connection, which is not shown here in closer detail.
• The operatingunit10′ is connected with its operatingline18 to adistributor unit20. Thedistributor unit20 is connected via afirst control line19 to thefirst control device9 and via asecond control line19′ to thesecond control device9′. All connectinglines18,19,19′ can be connected to thedistributor unit20 in a pluggable fashion or in a permanently-wired way.
• The function of thedistributor unit20 is that every single conductor of the operatingline18 is connected to a conductor of thefirst control line19 and simultaneously to a conductor of thesecond control line19′. This allows parallel control of the adjusting drives7 and7′ in such a way that they can be activated and deactivated simultaneously by means of the operatingunit10′.
• Thefirst control line19 forms afirst transmission link23, wherein thesecond control line19′ forms asecond transmission link23′. The operatingline18 is a furthercommon transmission link23ain this case.
• In the embodiment according toFIG. 5a, a wire-boundtransmission link21 is provided between thecontrol devices9 and9′, wherein the operatingunit10′ is connected with its operatingline18 to thefirst control device9. The operatingline18 forms atransmission link23 in this case.
• The wire-bound transmission links23a,23,23′ in form ofwire lines18,19,19′ can be bidirectional transmission links.
• Thelines18,19,19′ of the two embodiments according toFIGS. 5 and 5acan both be control lines and also power lines which conduct motor current.
• Eachcontrol device9,9′ is equipped with a microprocessor or microcomputer for example and comprises a control program. All control programs are arranged by means of the bidirectional transmission links21,22 between thecontrol devices9 and9′ for communication among each other. An exchange of adjusting parameters of the electromotive furniture drives100,100′ can occur among each other (adjusting path, adjusting angle, motor current, motor voltage), whose number is not limited to the two furniture drives100,100′ which are shown in the embodiments.
• This exchange of adjusting parameters of the electromotive furniture drives100,100′ can also occur via the operatingunit10,10′ as a common communication center. The operatingunit10,10′ is provided with a respective intelligent control unit, i.e. a microprocessor or microcomputer.
• A very simple configuration is possible because allcontrol devices9,9′ and all control programs of every singleelectromotive furniture drive100,100′ can be arranged identically. A further piece offurniture1,1′ in thefurniture arrangement200 can be added at any time.
• If both adjustingdrives7,7′ are switched on simultaneously, communication of drive-specific values such as motors speed, motor current, motor voltage occurs between thecontrol devices9 and9′. These drive-specific values are detected by detection means of therespective control device9,9′. A control program can detect the advancement of the respectively connected motor of the adjusting drives7,7′. The advancing motor is then automatically throttled by its associatedcontrol device9,9′.
• Throttling of a motor occurs via a PWM control, reduction of the operating voltage of the respective motor, or two-point controller (brief deactivation), three-point controller (intermediate stage with heating resistor or other voltage or current flow limiting means), n-point controller with more than three points.
• The detection of the drive-specific values is realized with detection means by measuring the motor current via the voltage drop of a resistor in the motor line. The motor speed can occur via incremental rotary pulse generators or by counting ripples of the back-EMF of the respective motor.
• An adjusting position is determined via the potentiometer (rotary potentiometer, linear potentiometer) and communication with further electromotive furniture drives100,100′.
• Thefurniture arrangement200 according toFIG. 3 is produced by simple collation or assembly. The operatingunit10 is subjected to an assignment process, in which so-called pairing occurs. In this process, therespective operating elements12,13 (FIG. 2) are assigned to the respective piece offurniture1,1′ or the respectiveelectromotive furniture drive100,100′.
• Eachelectromotive furniture drive100,100′ has a separate address.
• • The address is determined by way of a random generator, wherein there are approximately 24 million possibilities.
  • This address is preferably the series number of the respectiveelectromotive furniture drive100,100′.
  • Automatic assignment of the address can occur during mounting.
  • Automatic assignment of the address can also be made during first start-up.
• The operatingunit10,10′ arranges the pairing.
• • Seeking is performed for existing electromotive furniture drives100,100′. This is followed by synchronization with all found electromotive furniture drives100,100′ (see cordless phone and logging on to base station).
  • Assignment of the respectiveelectromotive furniture drive100,100′ to the key assignment in the operatingunit10,10′ occurs by key combination of the operatingunit10,10′.
• FIG. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of a method in accordance with the invention for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives100,100′ of afurniture arrangement200.
• The current adjusting positions of the operated motors of the adjusting drives7,7′ controlled in parallel are detected in a first method step S1.
• This is followed in a second method step S2 by a communication of the actual positions between thecontrol devices9,9′, wherein they are compared to each other.
• If a difference is determined, i.e. an advancing drive is recognized, the motor of said advancing drive is throttled by the associatedcontrol device9,9′ in a third method step S3, or the other motor is accelerated to a higher speed.
• In an alternative embodiment, the actual positions are compared in the second method step S2 to previously determinable values such as values in a table.
• This is followed in a third method step S3 by the throttling of the advancing motor or an acceleration of the respectively trailing motor with the intensity of a previously determined value, e.g. a value stored in a table.
• The invention is not limited to the embodiments as described above. It can be modified within the scope of the enclosed claims.
• It is thus possible for example that in the case of anoperating unit10,10′ with a number ofoperating elements12,13 one of theadditional operating elements15,16,17 (seeFIG. 2) is arranged as a button or switch for only the oneelectromotive furniture drive100,100′ and is provided for switching over.
• In an alternative embodiment, an operatingunit10,10′ can be used with a plurality of operatingelements12,13 for operating all electromotive furniture drives100,100′.
• For the purpose of throttling an advancing motor, it can also be deactivated briefly. It is obviously also possible that temporarily a series resistor is switched into the motor line in series with the associated motor. This is possible in such a way that said series resistor is bridged during operation by a relay switch for example which is opened for throttling.
• Adjusting path information can be obtained by counting ripples of the back-EMF of the associated motor.
• It is also possible that Hall sensors, potentiometers, light barrier generators are used. It is also obviously possible that limit switches are arranged along the adjusting path at specific positions which produce path information or can be used for correcting an adjusting path value.
• As described initially, the control devices (9,9′) of the electromotive furniture drives (100,100′) comprise detection means for detecting drive-specific values such as motor current, motor operating voltage, motor speed or the like of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive (7,7′;8,8′), or are connected to such detection means. Alternative drive-specific values are the adjusting path of a linearly displaceable output element of an adjusting drive (7,7′;8,8′) or the adjusting angle of a rotating or pivoting output element of another adjusting drive which is not described here in closer detail.
• Furthermore, an alternative embodiment provides a plurality of operatingunits10 which control thefurniture arrangement200. According to another alternative embodiment, the at least one adjustingdrive7,7′,8,8′ can contain acontrol device9,9′, wherein the adjustingdrive7,7′,8,8′ and thecontrol device9,9′ have a common housing.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
• 1,1′ Piece of furniture
• 2,2′ Base element
• 3,3′ Support element
• 4,4′ Backrest part
• 5,5′ Leg part
• 6,6 Motion fitting
• 7,7′;8,8′ Adjusting drive
• 9,9′ Control device
• 9a,9′a;9b,9′bReceiver
• 10,10′ Operating unit
• 11 Housing
• 12,13 Operating element
• 14 Indicator element
• 15,16,17 Additional operating element
• 18 Operating line
• 19,19′ Control line
• 20 Distributor unit
• 21,22 Transmission link
• 23,23′ Transmission link
• 100,100′ Electromotive furniture drive
• 100a,100′aDrive line
• 200 Furniture arrangement
• M, M′ Mattress
• S1 . . .3 Method step

Claims (15)

1.-12. (canceled)

13. A furniture arrangement, comprising:

at least two pieces of furniture;

at least two electromotive furniture drives respectively provided for the two pieces of furniture for adjusting at least one movable part of the at least two pieces of furniture, each said electromotive furniture drive comprising at least one adjusting drive having at least one electric motor, a revolution speed reducing gear mechanism coupled to the at least one electric motor and coupled in driving relationship to an output element for linear displacement and/or rotatably movement of the output element, and at least one control device; and

an operating unit configured to actuate the electric motors of the adjusting drives of the electromotive furniture drives,

wherein the control devices of the electromotive furniture drives have detectors for detecting drive-specific values of the at least one associated adjusting drive and with at least one final control device for a variable setting of an operating voltage of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive for parallel control of the at least one adjusting drive of the one electromotive furniture drive and the at least one adjusting drive of the other electromotive furniture drive,

wherein the control devices are configured for communication with the operating unit and among each other, or for communication among each other via the operating unit with at least one transmission link.

14. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 13, wherein the at least one transmission link is bidirectional.

15. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 13, wherein at least one control device is configured according to the detected drive-specific values for transmission of corresponding signals via the at least one transmission link.

16. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 15, wherein each further control device and the operating unit are configured to receive corresponding signals transmitted by the at least one control device.

17. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 16, wherein at least one control device comprises a program for the variable setting of the operating voltage of the at least one electric motor of the at least one adjusting drive.

18. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 13, wherein the final control device for the variable setting of the operating voltage of the electric motor of the at least one associated adjusting drive includes a PWM control unit and/or at least one switchable electric series resistor connected in series with the electric motor.

19. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 13, wherein the at least one control device of the one of the electromotive drives is coupled via a transmission link to the at least one control device of the other one of the electromotive drives.

20. The furniture arrangement ofclaim 13, wherein the transmission link is wireless and/or wire-bound.

21. A method for the parallel control of at least two electromotive furniture drives of a furniture arrangement, each of the electromotive furniture drives having an adjusting drive, comprising the steps of:

detecting current adjusting positions of operated motors of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel;

communicating the current actual positions of the operating motors of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel between control devices of the electromotive furniture drives and comparing the current actual positions; and

controlling the operated motors of the adjusting drives in parallel by throttling a recognized advancing motor of the adjusting drives to be controlled in parallel, or accelerating of a trailing one of the motors to a higher speed.

22. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the actual positions are compared with previously determinable values.

23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the previously determinable values are values in a table.

24. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the controlling step includes a throttling of an advancing one of the motors or an acceleration of a trailing one of the motors at an intensity of a previously determinable value.

25. The method ofclaim 24, wherein the previously determinable value is a value stored in a table.

26. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the communicating step is implemented between the control devices and an operating unit or between one of the control devices and the operating unit.

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