Vehicle interior temperature sensor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle interior temperature sensor, and more particularly, to a vehicle interior temperature sensor which smoothly discharges wet foreign matter flowing into a sensor housing from the outside through a cutting portion of the sensor housing, and increases an air contact area of a terminal sensor unit, thereby improving the reliability of a vehicle interior temperature sensor. Therefore, the sensitivity of temperature sensing can be improved. To this end, the present invention comprises: a PCB substrate; a tip sensor unit connected to a front side of the PCB substrate and including a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of an outer surface of one side of the tip case and a solar radiation sensor for sensing an amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of one side of the tip case; and a sensor housing that accommodates at least a part of the tip sensor unit and at least a part of the PCB substrate so as to prevent foreign matter from flowing into the PCB substrate from the outside, in which a lower side of a top portion of the sensor housing has a cutting portion that enables foreign matter flowing between the tip housing and the sensor housing to be discharged at the lower side, and the air contact area of the tail end sensor unit is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle indoor temperature sensor, and more particularly, to a vehicle indoor temperature sensor that can improve the sensitivity of temperature sensing by smoothly discharging moist foreign matter flowing into a sensor housing from the outside through a cut portion of the sensor housing and increasing the air contact area of ​​a terminal sensor unit. Background Art

[0002] The vehicle indoor temperature sensor can be divided into an air-intake indoor temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the flowing air by sucking the air inside the vehicle into the sensor, and a non-air-intake indoor temperature sensor that measures the vehicle indoor temperature without sucking air.

[0003] The advantages of the intake room temperature sensor are that the measured temperature is highly reliable and the sensing logic is relatively simple because the sensor itself inhales the air inside the vehicle and measures the temperature of the inhaled air. However, the disadvantages of the sensor are that the appearance requires a grille shape to inhale air into the sensor, and since a flow generating device for flowing air is required, the cost competitiveness is low.

[0004] In contrast, non-air-intake indoor temperature sensors are advantageous in that they can be configured with a high degree of freedom and have a beautiful appearance in appearance because a grille shape is not required, and cost competitiveness is relatively high.

[0005] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a conventional vehicle indoor temperature sensor.

[0006] like Figure 1 As shown, a non-inhaled indoor temperature sensor like this is configured to include: an end sensor unit 1, in which an IR sensor for measuring temperature and a light sensor for sensing light are packaged together; a PCB 2, on which an NTC is mounted, which is a temperature sensor configured to compensate for the temperature difference between the IR sensor of the end sensor unit 1 and a PCB portion; and a cover housing 3, which is used to accommodate at least a portion of the PCB 2 to protect the components of the NTC including the PCB 2 from the influence of foreign objects entering from the outside.

[0007] Here, the cover housing 3 is made of plastic or resin material to tightly seal and protect the PCB 2 components and predetermined parts of the end sensor unit 1. Therefore, the IR sensor and NTC of the end sensor unit 1 are isolated from the outdoor air by the sealing structure of the cover housing 3 and may not be in direct contact with the ambient temperature.

[0008] Due to a sealed structure like this, there is a problem in that the time of the IR sensor and the NTC as the temperature sensor to respond to the ambient temperature change is delayed, and it is difficult for the user to immediately control a desired temperature due to the delayed response time. Summary of the invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle indoor temperature sensor which smoothly discharges moist foreign matter flowing into the sensor housing from the outside through a cut portion of the sensor housing and increases the air contact area of ​​the terminal sensor unit, thereby improving the sensitivity of temperature sensing.

[0011] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle indoor temperature sensor, which can improve the response speed of a second temperature sensor on a PCB substrate and protect the PCB substrate from the influence of inflowing moisture by removing the injection material protecting the PCB substrate and forming a conformal coating on the PCB substrate.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] The present invention has the following features to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0014] The present invention provides a vehicle indoor temperature sensor, which includes: a PCB substrate; a terminal sensor unit, which is connected to the front side of the PCB substrate and includes a first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell and a solar radiation sensor for sensing the amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of the one side of the terminal shell; and a sensor housing, which accommodates at least a portion of the terminal sensor unit and at least a portion of the PCB substrate to prevent foreign matter from flowing into the PCB substrate from the outside, wherein the lower side of the top of the sensor housing has a cutting portion, which enables foreign matter flowing between the terminal shell and the sensor housing to be discharged at the lower side, and the cutting portion increases the air contact area of ​​the terminal sensor unit.

[0015] Here, the end sensor unit includes the first temperature sensor, the solar radiation sensor and the end shell accommodating a portion of the first temperature sensor located on the front side of the PCB substrate and a portion of the solar radiation sensor located on the front side of the PCB substrate, wherein the end shell includes a front body in a cylindrical shape and a rear body formed to have a diameter larger than that of the front body.

[0016] Furthermore, the cut portion is formed by cutting a front end lower portion of the sensor housing facing a lower end portion of the rear body of the tip housing.

[0017] In addition, the front end unit of the sensor housing is formed into a cylindrical shape having an open top portion and a bottom portion to accommodate a predetermined portion of the terminal housing and is arranged to face the terminal housing, wherein at least one protrusion protruding toward the interior of the front end unit is formed on the inner wall surface of the front end unit along the length direction of the sensor housing to separate the rear body of the terminal housing from the inner wall surface of the front end unit.

[0018] Furthermore, the cut portion is formed in a "U" shape, and a width is formed to be 1 / 5 to 1 / 2 of a diameter of the front end unit of the sensor housing.

[0019] Furthermore, the cut portion is formed to be larger than the front end lower portion of the sensor housing facing the lower end portion of the rear body of the tip housing toward the center along the length direction.

[0020] In addition, the vehicle indoor temperature sensor further includes a second temperature sensor mounted on the PCB substrate to sense temperature and compensate for a temperature difference between the terminal sensor unit and the PCB substrate.

[0021] Furthermore, when the sensor housing is provided, the front end lower portion of the sensor housing where the cut portion is formed includes a lowest point in the gravity direction at the front end of the sensor housing.

[0022] At the same time, a vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention includes: a PCB substrate; and a terminal sensor unit, which is connected to the front side of the PCB substrate and includes a first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell and a solar radiation sensor for sensing the amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of the one side of the terminal shell, wherein a second temperature sensor for compensating for the temperature difference between the terminal sensor unit and the PCB substrate is installed on the PCB substrate.

[0023] Here, a conformal coating is formed on at least a portion of the PCB substrate to prevent penetration of ingress moisture.

[0024] Beneficial Effects

[0025] According to the present invention, there is an effect in that moist foreign matter flowing into the sensor housing from the outside is smoothly discharged through the cut portion of the sensor housing and the air contact area of ​​the end sensor unit is increased, so that the sensitivity of temperature sensing can be improved.

[0026] In addition, since the cut portion is formed to be closer to the center portion compared to the rear body of the end shell, and a first connecting portion is formed through which outdoor air can flow into the sensor shell, the effect is that the response speed of the second temperature sensor mounted on the PCB substrate inside the sensor shell is improved, and the occurrence of dew condensation is prevented by reducing the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the sensor shell.

[0027] Furthermore, since the injection material protecting the PCB substrate is removed and a conformal coating is formed on the PCB substrate, there is an effect of improving the response speed of the second temperature sensor on the PCB substrate and protecting the PCB substrate from the influence of inflowing moisture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a conventional vehicle indoor temperature sensor.

[0029] Figure 2 1 is a bottom perspective view showing a vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 2 An enlarged view of part A of FIG.

[0031] Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB′ in FIG. 1 , which is a vertical cross-sectional view in a state where the indoor temperature sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed.

[0032] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 4 An enlarged view of portion C of FIG.

[0033] Figure 6 is from Figure 4 Front view as seen from the front end.

[0034] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a sensing information transmission process of an indoor temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] <Description of Reference Signs>

[0037] 100: PCB substrate

[0038] 110: second temperature sensor, 120: connection pin unit

[0039] 200: End sensor unit

[0040] 210: first temperature sensor, 220: solar radiation sensor

[0041] 230: end shell, 231: front body

[0042] 232: rear body, 232a: interference surface

[0043] 240: Connector unit

[0044] 300: Sensor housing

[0045] 310: front end unit, 311: cutting part

[0046] 311_W: the width of the cut part, 311_R: the rightmost point of the cut part

[0047] 312: inner wall surface, 313: protrusion

[0048] 314: first connecting portion, 315: second connecting portion

[0049] 400: Fixed bracket

[0050] 1000: Indoor temperature sensor DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] For the purposes of describing the invention, its operating advantages, and the objectives attained by carrying out the invention, preferred embodiments of the invention will be illustrated and described with reference to the present invention.

[0052] First, the terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention, and unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, singular expressions may include plural expressions. In addition, in this application, it should be understood that terms such as "including", "having" and the like are intended to specify the presence of features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof described in the specification, and do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

[0053] In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0054] Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view showing a vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 It is shown Figure 2 is an enlarged view of part A of Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB′ in FIG. 1 , which is a vertical cross-sectional view in a state where the indoor temperature sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed.

[0055] also, Figure 5 It is shown Figure 4 An enlarged view of part C of Figure 6 is from Figure 4 The front view as seen from the front, and Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a sensing information transmission process of an indoor temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] Referring to the accompanying drawings, a vehicle indoor temperature sensor 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention mainly includes: a PCB substrate 100; a terminal sensor unit 200, which is connected to the front side of the PCB substrate 100 and includes a first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell and a solar radiation sensor for sensing the amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell; and a sensor housing 300, which accommodates the terminal sensor unit 200 and at least a portion of the PCB substrate 100 to prevent foreign matter from flowing in from the outside.

[0057] Here, the PCB substrate 100 is configured to be connected to the connector unit 240 and the end sensor unit 200 on the front side to receive the outdoor temperature measured by the end sensor unit 200, i.e., the indoor temperature and information about the solar radiation amount of the vehicle, and is provided with a second temperature sensor 110 mounted on the PCB substrate to compensate for the temperature difference between the end sensor unit 200 and the PCB substrate 100 and sense the temperature.

[0058] The connection pin unit 120 for transmitting sensing information measured by the terminal sensor unit 200 and the second temperature sensor 110 to an internal system of the vehicle may be mounted on a rear portion of the PCB substrate 100 .

[0059] Meanwhile, the terminal sensor unit 200 is arranged to be positioned at the front side of the PCB substrate 100 as described above to sense the indoor temperature of the vehicle and information about the amount of indoor solar radiation of the vehicle. The terminal sensor unit 200 includes a first temperature sensor 210 for detecting the indoor temperature of the vehicle, a solar radiation sensor 220 for sensing information about the amount of indoor solar radiation of the vehicle, a terminal housing 230 for accommodating a portion of the first temperature sensor 210 located at the front side of the PCB substrate 100 and a portion of the solar radiation sensor 220 located at the front side of the PCB substrate 100, and a connector unit 240 as a connection unit, through which the first temperature sensor 210 and the solar radiation sensor 220 are connected to the PCB substrate 100 so that the sensing information is transmitted to the PCB substrate 100.

[0060] Here, the terminal housing 230 is composed of a front body 231 having a cylindrical shape and a rear body 232 formed to have a diameter larger than that of the front body 231. At this time, when the rear body 232 is formed to have an interference surface 232a extending more outward than the front body 231, moist foreign matter (to be described below) flowing between the terminal housing 230 and the front end unit of the sensor housing 300 collides with the interference surface 232a and moves toward the lower portion along the interference surface 232a.

[0061] That is, a discharge function is performed to guide foreign matter such as moisture, etc., flowing in through the interference surface 232 a of the rear body 232 to the lower portion and discharge the foreign matter to the outside through the cut portion 311 of the sensor housing 300 .

[0062] Meanwhile, the sensor housing 300 is configured to accommodate at least a portion of the terminal sensor unit 200 and the PCB substrate 100 to prevent foreign matter from flowing in from the outside. Preferably, the front end unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open top portion and a bottom portion to accommodate a predetermined portion of the terminal housing 230, and the cutting portion 311 is formed as described above.

[0063] Here, the cut portion 311 is formed at a lower portion of the front unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 and is formed by cutting a lower portion of the front unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 facing a lower end portion of the rear body 232 of the tip housing 230 .

[0064] When the sensor housing 300 is set, the reason for forming such a cut portion 311 at the lower part of the front end unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 (i.e., at the lower part in the gravity direction from the front end of the sensor housing 300) is to allow moist foreign matter that flows into between the end housing 230 and the sensor housing 300 to move toward the lower part along the interference surface 232a of the rear body 232 by gravity, and then be discharged to the outside through the cut portion 311 of the sensor housing 300.

[0065] In addition to discharging foreign matter flowing into the sensor housing between the front unit 310 and the terminal housing 230 , the cut portion 311 may increase the sensing sensitivity of the terminal sensor unit 200 by increasing the area where the terminal housing 230 contacts the outdoor air.

[0066] In addition, when the cutting portion 311 is Figure 5 When formed as shown, a first communication portion 314 is also formed, which is a space connecting the outside and the inside of the sensor housing 300 .

[0067] Since outdoor air can easily flow into the sensor housing 300 through the first connecting portion, the second temperature sensor 110 of the PCB substrate 100 located inside the sensor housing 300 can show higher response sensitivity to changes in the temperature of the outdoor air compared to the existing sealed indoor temperature sensor.

[0068] Furthermore, in the case of the existing sealed indoor temperature sensor, when the difference between the temperature inside the sensor housing 300 and the temperature outside the sensor housing 300 is significant, dew condensation may occur due to condensation of air. However, in the present invention, since the air can communicate between the inside and the outside of the sensor housing 300 through the cutout portion 311 and the first communicating portion 314, the difference in temperature is reduced, and dew condensation can be prevented or minimized.

[0069] It is preferred that the cutting portion 311 is formed into a "U" shape, and the width 311_W of the cutting portion is preferably formed to be 1 / 5 to 1 / 2 of the diameter of the front end unit 310 of the sensor housing, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0070] When the width 311_W of the cut portion is too large, the effect of blocking foreign matter may be reduced because foreign matter may flow into the sensor housing 300 through the cut portion 311. When it is too small, a problem may occur because foreign matter guided along the interference surface 232a of the end housing 230 may not be smoothly discharged to the outside as described above and may flow into the inside.

[0071] Furthermore, there is also a problem in that the increase range of the sensing sensitivity of the terminal sensor unit 200 is reduced due to the small size of the area in contact with the outdoor air.

[0072] Furthermore, it is preferred that the cut portion 311 is formed larger than a lower point of a lower end portion of the front unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 facing the rear body 232 of the tip housing 230 toward the center along the length direction of the sensor housing 300 .

[0073] That is to say, Figure 5 As shown in (a), the depth of the cutting portion 311 (i.e., the rightmost point 311_R of the cutting portion) should be positioned closer to the center than the rear body 232 to completely discharge foreign matter guided along the interference surface 232a of the rear body 232 and also form the above-mentioned first connecting portion 314.

[0074] Therefore, if Figure 5 As shown in (b), outdoor air can flow into the sensor housing 300, and as described above, can cause the effect of improving the sensing sensitivity of the second temperature sensor 110 and preventing dew condensation from occurring at the front end of the sensor housing 300 according to the airflow.

[0075] At the same time, if Figure 6 As shown, the inner wall surface 312 of the front end unit 310 of the sensor housing 300 is set to be separated from the end housing 230 by a predetermined distance and face the end housing 230, and the inner wall surface 312 of the front end unit 310 is set to contact or be separated from the rear body 232 of the end housing 230 by a predetermined distance.

[0076] Here, a plurality of protrusions 313 are formed on the inner wall surface 312 to separate the terminal housing 230 from the sensor housing 300 so that outdoor air can flow into the sensor housing 300 .

[0077] Here, the protrusion 313 is formed to protrude up to a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the sensor housing 300 , and a plurality of protrusions are formed to be spaced apart from each other along the circumference of the inner wall surface 312 .

[0078] Therefore, since the rear body 232 is substantially blocked from contacting the inner wall surface 312 of the sensor housing front unit 310, a second communication portion 315, which is a communication space through which outdoor air can flow into the sensor housing, is formed.

[0079] Since the second connecting portion 315 is formed by the protrusion 313 like the above-mentioned first connecting portion 314, the temperature sensing sensitivity of the second temperature sensor 110 mounted on the PCB substrate 100 can be improved, and dew condensation due to condensation can be prevented by reducing the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the sensor housing front end unit 310.

[0080] at the same time, Figure 2 and Figure 4 The fixing bracket 400 shown in FIG. 4 is a housing that allows the indoor temperature sensor 1000 of the present invention to be fixedly connected to a dashboard of a vehicle or the like, and can be configured in various shapes according to the component shape.

[0081] In addition, if Figure 7 As shown, the first temperature sensor 210 and the solar radiation sensor 220 of the end sensor unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention detect the temperature and amount of solar radiation on a side surface of the end shell 230, and transmit the sensing information to a separate control unit C connected by the connecting pin unit 120, and the second temperature sensor 110 installed on the PCB substrate 100 also detects the temperature on the PCB substrate and transmits the sensing information to the control unit C.

[0082] Therefore, the control unit C can determine the interior temperature of the vehicle more accurately.

[0083] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0084] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the vehicle indoor temperature sensor 1000 according to the present embodiment includes a PCB substrate 100 and a terminal sensor unit 200, the terminal sensor unit 200 is connected to the front side of the PCB substrate 100 and includes a first temperature sensor 210 for detecting the temperature of the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell 230 and a solar radiation sensor 220 for sensing the amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of one side of the terminal shell 230.

[0085] Unlike the above-mentioned embodiment, the indoor temperature sensor 1000 according to this embodiment omits the sensor housing 300, and therefore, the end sensor unit 200 is in contact with the outdoor air across the entire surface, and since the second temperature sensor 110 on the PCB substrate 100 is also exposed to contact with the outdoor air, it can exhibit a high response speed to changes in the outdoor temperature.

[0086] However, since the sensor housing 300 in the above embodiment is omitted, a conformal coating is formed on at least a portion of the PCB substrate 100 so that various components on the PCB substrate 100 are not damaged by moisture foreign matter flowing into the PCB substrate 100 from the outside.

[0087] Here, conformal coatings are typically applied to printed circuit boards (PCBs) or other electronic components to create a thin protective polymer layer to protect them from particles, moisture, gases and other contaminants or corrosive materials, and examples of conformal coating agents include Momentive's ECC3011 and ECC3051S silicone conformal coating agents.

[0088] Therefore, corrosion of the PCB substrate 100 and PCB components mounted on the surface of the PCB substrate may be prevented.

[0089] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments. That is, without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present invention, and all these appropriate changes and modifications are equivalent and should be considered to fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle indoor temperature sensor, the vehicle indoor temperature sensor comprising: PCB substrate; a terminal sensor unit connected to the front side of the PCB substrate and including a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of an outer surface of one side of a terminal housing and a solar radiation sensor for sensing an amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of the one side of the terminal housing; as well as A sensor housing, the sensor housing accommodating at least a portion of the end sensor unit and at least a portion of the PCB substrate to prevent foreign matter from flowing into the PCB substrate from the outside, wherein: The lower side of the top of the sensor housing has a cutout portion, the cutout portion enables foreign matter flowing in between the tip housing and the sensor housing to be discharged at the lower side, and the cutout portion increases an air contact area of ​​the tip sensor unit.

2. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein: The end sensor unit includes the first temperature sensor, the solar radiation sensor and the end shell accommodating a portion of the first temperature sensor located on the front side of the PCB substrate and a portion of the solar radiation sensor located on the front side of the PCB substrate, wherein the end shell includes a front body in a cylindrical shape and a rear body formed to have a diameter larger than that of the front body.

3. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 2, wherein: The cut portion is formed by cutting a front end lower portion of the sensor housing facing a lower end portion of the rear body of the tip housing.

4. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 3, wherein: The front end unit of the sensor housing is formed into a cylindrical shape having an open top portion and a bottom portion to accommodate a predetermined portion of the terminal housing and is arranged to face the terminal housing, wherein at least one protrusion protruding toward the interior of the front end unit is formed on the inner wall surface of the front end unit along the length direction of the sensor housing to separate the rear body of the terminal housing from the inner wall surface of the front end unit.

5. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 4, wherein: The cut portion is formed in a "U" shape, and a width is formed to be 1 / 5 to 1 / 2 of a diameter of the front end unit of the sensor housing.

6. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 5, wherein: The cut portion is formed to be larger than the front end lower portion of the sensor housing facing the lower end portion of the rear body of the tip housing toward the center along the length direction.

7. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 6, further comprising a second temperature sensor mounted on the PCB substrate to sense temperature and compensate for a temperature difference between the terminal sensor unit and the PCB substrate.

8. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein: When the sensor housing is provided, a front end lower portion of the sensor housing where the cut portion is formed includes a lowest point in a gravity direction at the front end of the sensor housing.

9. A vehicle indoor temperature sensor, the vehicle indoor temperature sensor comprising: PCB substrate; as well as a terminal sensor unit connected to the front side of the PCB substrate and comprising a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of an outer surface of one side of a terminal housing and a solar radiation sensor for sensing an amount of solar radiation incident on the outer surface of the one side of the terminal housing, wherein A second temperature sensor for compensating for a temperature difference between the end sensor unit and the PCB substrate is mounted on the PCB substrate.

10. The vehicle indoor temperature sensor according to claim 9, wherein: A conformal coating is formed on at least a portion of the PCB substrate to prevent penetration of ingress moisture.

Images