A uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of flexible temperature sensors of uniform distribution, it is related to the technical field of flexible temperature sensor, including, flexible substrate, its inside is formed with accommodating cavity;Multiple installation cavities, array is fixedly arranged in accommodating cavity, and adjacent installation cavities are connected by connecting hinge;Installation cavity includes thimble, the bottom end of its inner ring wall is equipped with limit ring, top end is equipped with internal thread, sensor body, is contained in thimble, and is supported by limit ring;Locking cap, its outer periphery is equipped with the external thread matched with internal thread, locking cap is threadedly connected with thimble.The utility model is used for installing sensor body by thimble, and adjacent thimble is connected by connecting hinge, when bending flexible substrate, thimble can be adaptively bent under the influence of connecting hinge, so that the sensor body in its interior can follow the bending of substrate to change the direction of sensor receiving point, to improve the accuracy of detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of flexible temperature sensors, and in particular to a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor. Background Technology

[0002] Flexible temperature sensors, as key components in the field of temperature monitoring, are widely used in areas such as surface temperature measurement of industrial equipment, human health monitoring, thermal management of new energy batteries, and structural health monitoring in aerospace due to their ability to conform to complex curved surfaces. With the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the requirements for temperature sensors to maintain high flexibility and distributed deployment while ensuring their detection accuracy and directionality are also increasing.

[0003] In existing technologies, the main method for achieving flexible temperature sensing typically involves directly fixing tiny temperature sensing elements onto a flexible substrate through bonding, encapsulation, or printing. While this method achieves basic flexibility, when the substrate bends or twists, the sensing element deforms along with the substrate, causing an uncontrollable shift in the spatial orientation of its sensing head. This makes it impossible to maintain optimal orthogonal contact with the measured surface, resulting in significant cosine errors in the measurements and severely impacting the accuracy of temperature measurements on curved surfaces. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this section is to outline some aspects of embodiments of the present invention and to briefly describe some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions may be made in this section, as well as in the abstract and title of this application, to avoid obscuring the purpose of these documents; however, such simplifications or omissions should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the above and / or existing uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensors, this utility model is proposed.

[0006] Therefore, the problem to be solved by this utility model is how to solve the problem that when the substrate is bent or twisted, the sensing element deforms together with the substrate, and the spatial orientation of the sensing head will be uncontrollably shifted, making it impossible to always maintain the best orthogonal contact posture with the measured surface, resulting in significant errors in the measurement value.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model provides the following technical solution: a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor, comprising: a flexible substrate having a receiving cavity inside; multiple mounting cavities fixedly arranged in an array within the receiving cavity, adjacent mounting cavities being connected by connecting hinges; each mounting cavity including a collar, the bottom end of which has a limiting ring and the top end having an internal thread; a sensor body housed within the collar and supported by the limiting ring; a locking cover having an external thread on its outer circumference that mates with the internal thread, the locking cover being threadedly connected to the collar for pressing and fixing the sensor body; a wire, one end of which is electrically connected to the sensor body, and the other end passing through the locking cover and leading out; and a conductive cover being provided at the upper end of the flexible substrate.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, a support ring is further provided at the top corner of the four adjacent mounting cavities, and the support ring is fixedly connected to the cavity wall of the receiving cavity.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the conductive cover includes a cover plate and a wiring assembly. The cover plate is fixedly disposed above the flexible substrate, and the wiring assembly is disposed on the bottom surface of the cover plate and electrically connected to each wire.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the wiring group includes multiple leads and a wiring frame, each lead penetrates the flexible substrate and is connected to a wire, and the wiring frame electrically connects all leads in parallel.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the connecting hinge includes a guide and a movable component. The guide and the movable component are respectively fixedly disposed on the opposite sidewalls of two adjacent collars and are oriented opposite to each other. The movable component is rotatably connected to the guide through a shaft.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, wherein: the movable member has support plates extending on both sides, the sidewalls of the support plates are provided with elastic rings, one end of the elastic rings continuously abutting against the sidewalls of the guide member to provide damping force for the hinge.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the bottom end of the flexible substrate is further provided with a contact plate, and the contact plate is provided with a plurality of positioning holes, the position of each positioning hole corresponding to the sensing head of each sensor body.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the flexible substrate, cover plate and contact plate are all made of flexible silicone material and are fixedly connected to form an integral flexible package.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this invention, the support ring is made of the same material as the flexible substrate and is integrally formed with the flexible substrate.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment of the uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor of this utility model, the wiring frame is also connected to an integrated electrical connector. After all the leads are combined through the wiring frame, the electrical signals are uniformly output to the outside via the electrical connector.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: the collar is used to install the sensor body, and the adjacent collars are connected by the connecting hinge. When the flexible substrate is bent, the collar can bend adaptively under the influence of the connecting hinge, so that the sensor body inside can change the direction of the sensor receiving point according to the bending of the substrate, thereby improving the detection accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor.

[0020] Figure 2 Structural explosion of a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor Figure 1 .

[0021] Figure 3 Structural explosion of a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor Figure 2 .

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the connecting hinge for a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mounting cavity for a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the conductive cover of a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor.

[0025] In the diagram: 1. Flexible substrate; 2. Receiving cavity; 3. Mounting cavity; 31. Collar; 32. Limiting ring; 33. Internal thread; 34. Sensor body; 35. Locking cover; 36. External thread; 37. Wire; 4. Connecting hinge; 41. Guide; 42. Moving part; 43. Support plate; 44. Elastic ring; 5. Conductive cover; 51. Cover plate; 52. Wiring assembly; 521. Guide head; 522. Terminal block; 6. Support ring; 7. Contact plate; 8. Positioning hole; 9. Electrical connector. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of this utility model more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Those skilled in the art can make similar extensions without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0028] Secondly, the term "an embodiment" or "embodiment" as used herein refers to a specific feature, structure, or characteristic that may be included in at least one implementation of the present invention. The phrase "in one embodiment" appearing in different places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a single or selective embodiment that excludes other embodiments.

[0029] Example 1, referring to Figures 1-6 This is the first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment provides a uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor includes a flexible substrate 1 and multiple mounting cavities 3. The mounting cavities 3 are used to mount the sensor body 34 through collars 31, and adjacent collars 31 are connected to each other through connecting hinges 4. When the flexible substrate 1 is bent, the collars 31 can bend adaptively under the influence of the connecting hinges 4, so that the sensor body 34 inside can change the direction of the sensor receiving point according to the bending of the substrate, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0030] Specifically, it includes a flexible substrate 1, which is made of silicone material and serves as a physical carrier and flexible deformation basis for the entire system, with a receiving cavity 2 formed inside.

[0031] Specifically, multiple mounting cavities 3 are fixedly arranged in an array within the receiving cavity 2. Adjacent mounting cavities 3 are connected by connecting hinges 4, allowing them to rotate relative to each other around the hinge axis, thus forming the flexible mechanical basis of the entire flexible array. Each mounting cavity 3 includes a collar 31, a sensor body 34, a locking cover 35, and a wire 37. The collar 31 is a rigid short tubular structure with an inwardly protruding limiting ring 32 at the bottom of its inner ring wall to support the sensor body 34. The inner wall at its top is machined with an internal thread 33. The outer wall of the collar 31 is fixedly connected to the connecting hinge 4.

[0032] Specifically, the sensor body 34 is housed in the collar 31, with its bottom resting on the limiting ring 32, thereby being positioned at the lower axial end, and the sensing head of the sensor body 34 is inserted into the annular hole of the limiting ring 32. Specifically, the locking cover 35 has an external thread 36 on its outer periphery that mates with the internal thread 33 of the collar 31. By screwing the locking cover 35 in, its bottom surface will press against the upper surface of the sensor body 34, thereby achieving axial fastening and circumferential fixation of the sensor in the collar 31 and preventing it from shaking or rotating in the cavity.

[0033] Specifically, one end of the wire 37 is plugged into the electrode terminal of the sensor body 34 to achieve electrical connection. After the wire 37 is led out from the sensor, it passes through the through hole preset in the center of the locking cover 35 and leads to the outside. The through hole is equipped with an elastic sealing ring, which not only fixes the wire 37 but also prevents external liquid from seeping in.

[0034] Specifically, the upper end of the flexible substrate 1 is provided with a conductive cover 5 for connecting each wire 37 in parallel.

[0035] Example 2, refer to Figures 2-6 This is the second embodiment of the present invention, which is based on the previous embodiment.

[0036] Specifically, at the top corners of the four adjacent mounting cavities 3, a support ring 6 is provided. The support ring 6 is fixedly connected to the cavity wall of the receiving cavity 2. When the flexible substrate 1 bends or twists, the support ring 6 can effectively share and disperse the local stress transmitted to the mounting cavity 3 and its connecting hinge 4, preventing excessive displacement or twisting of the cavity chain, thereby maintaining the structural regularity and spacing stability of the entire sensor array during the deformation process, without sacrificing the overall flexibility.

[0037] Specifically, the conductive cover 5 includes a cover plate 51 and a wiring group 52. The cover plate 51 is fixedly disposed on the top of the flexible substrate 1, and the wiring group 52 is disposed on the bottom surface of the cover plate 51 and electrically connected to each wire 37. The cover plate 51 is fixedly disposed on the top of the flexible substrate 1 by hot pressing, which plays a dual role of electromagnetic shielding and physical protection. The wiring group 52 is disposed on the bottom surface of the cover plate 51 and is an integrated electrical connection module for efficiently and reliably connecting each wire 37 in parallel.

[0038] Specifically, the wiring group 52 includes multiple leads 521 and a wiring frame 522. Each lead 521 passes through the flexible substrate 1 and is connected to a wire 37. The wiring frame 522 electrically connects all leads 521 in parallel. The wiring frame 522 is a flexible circuit printed on the bottom surface of the cover plate 51. The wiring frame 522 is also connected to an integrated electrical connector 9. After all leads 521 are combined through the wiring frame 522, they are finally output to the outside through this single electrical connector 9.

[0039] Specifically, the connecting hinge 4 includes a guide 41 and a movable part 42. The guide 41 and the movable part 42 are respectively fixedly disposed on the opposite side walls of two adjacent collars 31 and are oriented opposite to each other. The movable part 42 is rotatably connected to the guide 41 through a shaft. The guide 41 and the movable part 42 are integrally formed on the two opposite side walls of the collar 31 for connecting two adjacent collars 31. The movable part 42 is rotatably connected by inserting a shaft into the shaft hole of the guide 41.

[0040] Specifically, the movable part 42 has support plates 43 extending from both sides. The sidewall of the support plate 43 is provided with an elastic ring 44. One end of the elastic ring 44 continuously abuts against the sidewall of the guide part 41 to provide damping force for the hinge. This can effectively eliminate movement gaps, making the bending movement of the mounting cavity 3 chain smoother and without shaking. At the same time, it can suppress minor vibrations and improve the reading stability of the sensor body 34 in dynamic environments.

[0041] Specifically, the bottom end of the flexible substrate 1 is also provided with a contact plate 7. The contact plate 7 is made of flexible silicone and has multiple positioning holes 8 precisely opened on it by molding. The positions of the positioning holes 8 are precisely aligned with the sensing heads of each sensor body 34. When the sensor body 34 array is attached to the surface to be measured, the contact plate 7 directly contacts the surface to be measured, and the positioning holes 8 ensure that the sensing head can contact the surface to be measured without obstruction.

[0042] Specifically, the flexible substrate 1, the cover plate 51, and the contact plate 7 are all made of flexible silicone and are fixedly connected to form an integral flexible package, which can effectively improve waterproof, dustproof, and corrosion-resistant capabilities, enabling the sensor body 34 to adapt to complex working conditions.

[0043] Specifically, the support ring 6 is made of the same material as the flexible substrate 1 and is integrally formed with the flexible substrate 1, ensuring uniform transmission of internal stress and consistency of overall mechanical properties.

[0044] Specifically, the terminal block 522 is also connected to an integrated electrical connector 9. After all the leads 521 are combined through the terminal block 522, they are output as electrical signals through the electrical connector 9.

[0045] When temperature measurement is required on curved or dynamic surfaces during use, the flexible substrate 1 will bend and deform to fit the surface being measured. The connecting hinge 4 allows relative rotation between adjacent mounting cavities 3. Therefore, the entire cavity chain consisting of the connecting hinge 4 and the mounting cavity 3 installed in the receiving cavity 2 can undergo chain-like adaptive bending as the flexible substrate 1 bends. At this time, the axial direction of the collar 31 will change accordingly, thereby causing the sensor head of the sensor body 34, which is fixed by the locking cover 35 inside, to adjust accordingly. This allows the sensor body 34 to face the surface being measured or the target direction more continuously and directly, reducing measurement errors caused by excessive tilt angles, thereby improving the spatial pointing accuracy and consistency of the detection.

[0046] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of this utility model and are not intended to limit it. Although this utility model has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solution of this utility model without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of this utility model, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor, characterized in that: include, A flexible substrate (1) has a cavity (2) formed inside it. Multiple mounting cavities (3) are fixedly arranged in an array within the receiving cavity (2), and adjacent mounting cavities (3) are connected by connecting hinges (4); The mounting cavity (3) includes a collar (31), with a limiting ring (32) at the bottom of its inner ring wall and an internal thread (33) at the top. The sensor body (34) is housed within the collar (31) and supported by the limiting ring (32); The locking cover (35) has an external thread (36) on its outer periphery that mates with the internal thread (33). The locking cover (35) is threadedly connected to the collar (31) for pressing and fixing the sensor body (34). A wire (37) is electrically connected at one end to the sensor body (34) and the other end is led out through the locking cover (35); A conductive cover (5) is provided on the upper end of the flexible substrate (1).

2. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 1, characterized in that: At the top corners of the four adjacent mounting cavities (3), a support ring (6) is also provided, and the support ring (6) is fixedly connected to the cavity wall of the receiving cavity (2).

3. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The conductive cover (5) includes a cover plate (51) and a wiring group (52). The cover plate (51) is fixedly disposed above the flexible substrate (1), and the wiring group (52) is disposed on the bottom surface of the cover plate (51) and electrically connected to each wire (37).

4. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The wiring assembly (52) includes multiple leads (521) and a wiring frame (522). Each lead (521) passes through the flexible substrate (1) and is connected to a wire (37). The wiring frame (522) electrically connects all the leads (521) in parallel.

5. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The connecting hinge (4) includes a guide (41) and a movable part (42). The guide (41) and the movable part (42) are respectively fixed on the opposite side walls of two adjacent collars (31) and are oriented opposite to each other. The movable part (42) is rotatably connected to the guide (41) through a shaft.

6. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The movable part (42) has a support plate (43) extending on both sides. The side wall of the support plate (43) is provided with an elastic ring (44). One end of the elastic ring (44) continuously abuts against the side wall of the guide (41) to provide damping force for the hinge.

7. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The bottom end of the flexible substrate (1) is also provided with a contact plate (7), and multiple positioning holes (8) are provided on the contact plate (7). The position of each positioning hole (8) corresponds to the sensing head of each sensor body (34).

8. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 7, characterized in that: The flexible substrate (1), cover plate (51) and contact plate (7) are all made of flexible silicone and are fixedly connected to form an integral flexible package.

9. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The support ring (6) is made of the same material as the flexible substrate (1) and is integrally formed with the flexible substrate (1).

10. The uniformly distributed flexible temperature sensor as described in claim 9, characterized in that: The junction box (522) is also connected to an integrated electrical connector (9). All the leads (521) converge through the junction box (522) and then output electrical signals to the outside via the electrical connector (9).

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