Design of a mechatronic locking system in a rotating gear shifter : How a knowledge-intensive approach can be utilized in a product development project

Gear shifters are currently undergoing a shift of technology forcing companies within the industry to develop new concepts and new designs. An example of this is Kongsberg Automotive that is developing one new innovative design; a rotating gear shifter. An important part of the rotating gear shifter is the locking system that control whenever rotation (shifting of gear) should be possible. The purpose and objective of this thesis is to show how the design of a mechatronic locking system can be implemented in the rotating gear shifter being developed by Kongsberg Automotive to fulfill the desired function (locking the rotating gear shifter), as well as optimizing it with regards to size, cost and energy consumption. The thesis is investigating how a knowledge-intensive approach can be adopted in order to deliberately and systematically build understanding of the basic principles involved in the operation of the new technology. The thesis presents six different design concepts that has been studied and, based on different design aspects, they have been compared to each other. The design concept that is deemed the most suitable to the application is a locking system based on a magnetic circuit. The physics of the magnetic circuit has been studied and a mathematical model of the system has been derived that identifies the design parameters that affect the size, cost and energy consumption. Simulations and experiments has been performed to compare how well the theory correlate to reality. A mathematical model is presented which has been derived from conventional physics. The thesis also presents simulations which has been performed using state-of-the-art software. Finally, results from experiments are presented which have been conducted on prototypes of the system. All results show the same behaviour which is taken as a verification and validation of the mathematical model, motivating its continued use in further design efforts. A knowledge-intensive approach can thus be used in the development of new designs