sensor

Abstract

We provide sensors that are easy to assemble. [Solution] The sensor comprises a housing 10 having a housing space 11 inside, a sensor chip 30 housed in the housing space 11, a pair of terminals 20 extending from the entrance 12 of the housing space 11 toward the depth direction of the housing space 11 and contacting the side surface of the sensor chip 30 in the width direction perpendicular to the depth direction, and an electric wire 40 connected to the terminals 20. The terminals 20 have two rod-shaped portions 21 that branch into two within the housing space 11 and extend side by side in the width direction. One rod-shaped portion 21 located on the sensor chip 30 side elastically contacts the side surface of the sensor chip 30, and the other rod-shaped portion 21 is arranged along the side wall in the width direction of the housing space 11.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sensor.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, temperature sensors are used in various devices such as home appliances, OA equipment, ICT equipment, and automobiles. The temperature sensors used in these devices are composed of a sensor chip having a pair of left and right terminals and an electric wire electrically connected to the terminals. As a configuration including such a sensor, Patent Document 1 describes a connector in which terminals are respectively connected near the tips of two electric wires, a sensor chip is sandwiched between the two terminals, and the electrodes of the sensor chip and the terminals are brought into contact with each other.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Regarding the sensors as described above, those with a more easily assembled structure and configuration are required.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a sensor with good workability in assembly.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the sensor according to the present invention comprises a housing having a housing space inside, a sensor chip housed in the housing space, a pair of terminals extending from the entrance of the housing space toward the depth direction of the housing space and contacting the side surface of the sensor chip in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction, and an electric wire connected to the terminals, wherein the terminals have two rod-shaped portions that branch into two within the housing space and extend side by side in the width direction, one rod-shaped portion located on the sensor chip side elastically contacting the side surface of the sensor chip, and the other rod-shaped portion arranged along the side wall in the width direction of the housing space.

[0007] This configuration, in which a pair of terminals have a bifurcated rod-shaped portion that elastically contacts the side surface of the sensor chip, allows the sensor chip to be held in place by an elastic force that reduces the distance between the pair of terminals. This makes it possible to realize a sensor that is simple to assemble and easy to work with.

[0008] In the sensor with the above configuration, the tip of the other rod-shaped portion of the terminal may be in contact with the inner wall in the depth direction of the housing space.

[0009] This configuration makes it easier to position the terminals within the housing space. Furthermore, this improves the efficiency of sensor assembly. In addition, the ease of positioning makes it easier to automate the manufacturing process.

[0010] In the sensor with the above configuration, a taper may be formed on one of the rod-shaped portions of the pair of terminals.

[0011] The tapered shape makes it easier to insert the sensor chip between the pair of terminals, improving the ease of assembly.

[0012] In the sensor with the above configuration, the terminal may be press-fitted with the electric wire on the outside of the housing.

[0013] This configuration eliminates the need to strip the insulation from the wires, thus simplifying the assembly process.

[0014] In the sensor with the above configuration, the terminal has a contact portion that is pressed against the electric wire on the outside of the housing, and the contact portion has a groove narrower than the diameter of the electric wire, and the electric wire may deform to match the shape of the groove and be pressed against the terminal.

[0015] This configuration allows for crimping the wires and terminals together. This eliminates the need to strip the wire insulation, simplifying the assembly process.

[0016] In the sensor having the above configuration, there is a first pressure contact portion where one of the pair of terminals is pressure-contacted with the electric wire, and a second pressure contact portion where the other terminal of the pair of terminals is pressure-contacted with the electric wire, and the positions of the first pressure contact portion and the second pressure contact portion may be spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire.

[0017] This configuration allows for connection by crimping even when using two connected wires.

[0018] In the sensor having the above configuration, the housing containing the sensor chip and the pair of terminals may be covered and molded by an outer shell member made of an insulating material.

[0019] This configuration protects the internal sensor chip and terminals from short circuits and electrical interference. Furthermore, it reduces susceptibility to external environmental influences, stabilizing the sensor signal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] Using the sensor according to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to provide a sensor that is easy to assemble. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0021] [Figure 1]It is a side cross-sectional view of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a cross-sectional view of a part taken along line B-B in FIG. 1 of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view of a part of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] It is a partially enlarged view of the cross-section taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] It is a partially enlarged view of the side cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 of the sensor according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] It is an enlarged view of the wire crimping portion according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] It is an enlarged view of the wire crimping portion according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] It is a schematic view showing the terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart showing the manufacturing method of the sensor of this embodiment. [Figure 12] It is a perspective view showing the configuration of the sensor according to the manufacturing method of the sensor of this embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a sensor 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional top view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the sensor 100. Note that FIGS. 3 and 4 show only the internal configuration of the outer shell member 50, and the description of the outer shell member 50 is omitted. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the sensor 100 is referred to as the front-rear direction, the short-side direction (width direction) is referred to as the left-right direction, and the height direction is referred to as the up-down direction as the direction of the arrow shown in the side view of FIG. 1.

[0023] Sensor 100 is used in electronic devices such as home appliances, office automation equipment, ICT equipment, and automobiles, and is connected within a circuit. Sensor 100 consists of an insulating housing 10, a terminal 20 with one end inserted into the housing 10, a sensor chip 30 held by the terminal 20, a wire 40 connected to the other end of the terminal 20, and an outer shell member 50 that covers part of the housing 10, the terminal 20, and the wire 40.

[0024] The housing 10 is molded using an electrically insulating material such as synthetic resin. Inside the housing 10 is a storage space 11 into which the sensor chip 30 and a rod-shaped portion 21, which is part of the terminal 20 that holds the sensor chip 30, are inserted. On the upper surface of the housing 10, a roughly rectangular parallelepiped projection 17 is formed in the front-to-back direction. The projection 17 makes it easier to determine the up and down direction when assembling with a machine. The storage space 11 extends from the entrance 12 in the depth direction (rear direction) and is surrounded by left and right side walls 13 and an inner wall 14 in the depth direction. The structure of the storage space 11 will be described in more detail later.

[0025] The terminals 20 are made of a conductive material and are arranged in pairs, parallel and symmetrically in the left-right direction. Each terminal 20 has a rod-shaped portion 21 at one end that is inserted into the housing space 11 of the housing 10, and wire crimping portions 24 and 25 at the other end for connecting the electric wire 40. The rod-shaped portion 21 and the wire crimping portions 24 and 25 are connected by terminal arms 26. As will be described later, the paired terminals 20 are connected by a carrier portion 64 during the manufacturing of the sensor 100, but they are not connected to each other in the finished product. The terminal 20 is constructed by bending downward in an L-shape at the base 20a of the rod-shaped portion 21 at the terminal arm 26 connected to the rod-shaped portion 21, then bending forward in an L-shape towards where the electric wire 40 is connected, and finally bending upward in an L-shape at the bases 24a and 25a of the wire crimping portions 24 and 25 at the other end. By bending the terminal arm portion 26 into an L-shape, wire crimping portions 24 and 25 capable of holding the electric wire 40 can be formed at the other end of the same plate as the terminal 20, and the vertical height of the center position of the sensor chip 30 and the center position of the electric wire 40 can be matched. Matching the height of the center positions of the sensor chip 30 and the electric wire 40 makes the entire sensor smaller and easier to handle. The terminal arm portion 26 may be straight without bending, and the shape of the bent terminal arm portion 26 does not have to be L-shaped.

[0026] Of the terminal 20, the rod-shaped portion 21 is inserted into the housing space 11 from its base 20a to its tip. The rod-shaped portion 21 is bifurcated at its tip, with the portion positioned on the inside of each pair of terminals 20 being shorter than the other. The sensor chip 30 is held between these shorter rod-shaped holding portions 22. The other rod-shaped auxiliary portion 23 is located on the outside of the rod-shaped holding portion 22 in the left-right direction, and is inserted along the side wall 13 of the housing space 11 until its tip abuts against the inner wall 14 in the depth direction (rear direction) of the housing space 11. This bifurcated structure allows the rod-shaped holding portion 22 to be elastically deformable relative to the rod-shaped auxiliary portion 23. The gap between the rod-shaped holding portions 22 of the pair of terminals is widened by the sensor chip 30, giving the rod-shaped holding portion 22 the elastic force to hold the sensor chip 30.

[0027] The rod-shaped holding portion 22 will be explained with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rod-shaped portion 21 at AA in Figure 1. The tip of the rod-shaped portion 22 has a taper that narrows in width toward the depth direction (rear direction) of the housing space 11. That is, the width of the rod-shaped member 22 narrows from the widest part (hereinafter referred to as the "wide portion") 22b toward the tip 22c, and the distance between the two rod-shaped holding portions 22 widens toward the tip 22c. The tapered shape of the rod-shaped portion 21 makes it easier to insert the sensor chip 30 between the pair of terminals 20 from the tip 22c side. After the terminals 20 are inserted into the housing space 11, the sensor chip 30 is held by the wide portions 22b of the two rod-shaped holding portions 22 facing each other. In addition, a recessed portion 22a is formed in front of the wide portion 22b of the rod-shaped member 22 where the width of the rod-shaped member 22 is locally narrowed. The recessed portion 22a has the effect of distributing the stress applied to the rod-shaped member 22 when the rod-shaped member 22 undergoes elastic deformation.

[0028] To explain how the rod-shaped portion 21 is inserted into the housing 10, the structure of the housing space 11 will be described again using Figures 6 and 7. Figure 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the sensor 100, and is an enlarged view of a part of the vicinity of the housing 10. The entrance 12 has an insertion opening 12a with a bottom surface 11a that widens toward the outside of the housing 10, guiding the rod-shaped portion 21 in and making it easy to insert. The insertion opening 12a may also be provided on the upper side of the entrance 12, but providing it on either side allows for a structure that is moderately fixed while making insertion easy. On the bottom surface 11a of the housing space 11, a stopper 15 is formed in the direction of depth from the entrance 12, which is a protruding structure that is a step 15b that goes down from a slope 15a that rises toward the back. The upper surface 11b of the housing space 11 is formed lower than the upper surface 11d slightly behind this stopper 15, and the bottom surface 11a and the upper surface 11b create a space 11c behind the stopper 15 in which the sensor chip 30 can be housed. The stopper 15 only needs to be provided near the position through which the sensor chip 30 passes during insertion, and to be approximately the width of the sensor chip 30; it does not need to be provided across the entire width of the housing space 11. As shown in Figure 6, a portion of the inner wall 14 in the depth direction is shallower, and this difference in depth forms grooves 14a that can accommodate the tips of the left and right rod-shaped auxiliary parts 23.

[0029] When inserting the rod-shaped portion 21 into the housing 10, the sensor chip 30 is first placed in the space 11c behind the stopper 15 in the housing space 11. The sensor chip 30 is prevented from shifting forward in space 11c by the step 15b provided in the housing space 11, and the structure of the upper surface 11d prevents it from shifting backward. This allows the sensor chip 30 to be fixed inside the housing 10. Subsequently, when the rod-shaped portion 21 is inserted until the tip of the rod-shaped auxiliary portion 23 abuts against the inner wall 14 in the depth direction of the groove 14a, the tip 22c of the rod-shaped holding portion 22 is pushed outwards by the sensor chip 30. Further insertion causes the sensor chip 30 to be elastically held in the wide portion 22b. The rod-shaped auxiliary portion 23 is tapered towards the tip, making it easy to insert into the groove 14a. The inner wall 14 in the depth direction does not necessarily have to have a groove 14a, and Figure 2 shows the case where no groove 14a is formed. By inserting the sensor chip 30 into the housing space 11 beforehand, it becomes easier to insert the terminals 20 into the housing space 11. This makes handling the parts easier during assembly.

[0030] The above describes a method in which the sensor chip 30 is inserted into the housing space 11 first. However, the sensor chip may also be inserted into the housing space 11 together with the rod-shaped portion 21 when inserting the rod-shaped portion 21 into the housing 10. In that case, the sensor chip 30 is inserted while being temporarily held in the tapered portion formed from the tip 22c to the wide portion 22b of the rod-shaped holding portion 22. Then, as the rod-shaped portion 21 is further inserted, the sensor chip 30 is inserted to the space 11c behind the stopper 15 in Figure 7, and is then housed in the space 11c while being held in place by the rod-shaped holding portion 22. Due to the structure of the housing space 11 as described above, when the sensor chip 30 is inserted, it moves smoothly to the space 11c by the slope 15a. Furthermore, when the rod-shaped portion 21 is inserted until the tip of the rod-shaped auxiliary portion 23 abuts against the inner wall 14 at the back of the housing space 11, the contact portion between the sensor tip 30 and the rod-shaped holding portion 22 moves along the tapered shape to the wide portion 22b, and is then elastically held between the rod-shaped holding portions 22 in the narrowed wide portion 22b.

[0031] The sensor chip 30 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape and is a device capable of outputting information about changes in the object to be detected, such as temperature changes, as an electrical signal. Electrodes are formed on the side of the sensor chip 30, and by holding the side against the rod-shaped holding part 22, the sensor chip 30 and the terminal 20 can be electrically connected.

[0032] Next, the wire crimping portions 24 and 25 at the other end of the rod-shaped portion 21 of the terminal 20 will be described. As shown in Figure 2, the electric wire 40 is crimped to the terminal 20, arranged parallel to each other in the left-right direction. The wire crimping portions 24 and 25 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 40, on the terminal 20. Figures 8 and 9 show the appearance of the wire crimping portions 24 and 25 when viewed from the rod-shaped portion 21 side towards the electric wire 40. The upper part of Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the electric wire 40. The electric wire 40 has a core wire 41 consisting of multiple conductors, which is covered with an insulating sheath portion 42. The wire crimping portions 24 and 25 are formed by bending upward from the terminal arm portion 26 at the base 24a. At the upper ends of the terminal crimping portions 24 and 25, an opening 24a is formed with a cross-section that opens outward in an inverted V shape, and a groove-shaped crimping groove portion 24b is formed downward from the opening 24a, with a width slightly narrower than the diameter of the core wire 41. When the electric wire 40 is pushed from the opening 24a to the crimping groove portion 24b, the insulation portion 42 of the electric wire 40 tears, and the core wire 41 is crushed within the crimping groove portion 24b to conform to the shape of the crimping groove portion 24b, causing the electric wire crimping portions 24 and 25 to come into contact with the core wire 41 and be crimped. This structure eliminates the need for processes such as stripping the insulation portion 42 of the electric wire 40 and soldering the stripped core wire 41. In this way, the electric wire 40 and the terminal 20 are electrically connected. Figure 9 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the electric wire 40 and the electric wire crimping portion 24 after crimping. With the structure described above, the wire crimping sections 24 and 25 are spaced apart in the front-to-back direction, so that interference between the wire crimping sections 24 and 25 can be avoided even when using wires 40 connected in parallel from left to right. This configuration allows for the use of wires 40 in a shape where two wires are connected in parallel, as shown in the upper part of Figure 8.

[0033] Returning to Figure 1, the outer shell member 50 will be described. The outer shell member 50 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin. The outer shell member 50 covers the terminal 20 that holds the sensor chip 30, the housing 10 into which the terminal 20 is inserted, and a portion of the electric wire 40 connected to the terminal 20 from the outside. Figure 5 shows the state after the outer shell member 50 has been covered and molded. By covering the sensor 100 with the outer shell member 50, its resistance to vibration and shock is improved, and its mechanical strength can be increased. In addition, its electrical insulation can be improved.

[0034] Thus, according to the sensor 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to construct a sensor that is easy to assemble.

[0035] Next, the manufacturing method of the sensor 100 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 10 and Figure 11. Before assembly, the terminals 20 that make up the sensor 100 are bundled together on a reel 60 with many terminals 20 wound around it. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the tip portion slightly pulled out from this reel 60. The terminals 20 are arranged in pairs in parallel on a winding portion 61, which is the part that is wound around the reel. The terminals 20 and the winding portion 61 are connected to the ends 24b, 25b of the bases 24a, 25a of the wire crimping portions 24, 25 by connecting portions 62, 63. With the carrier portion 64 consisting of the winding portion 61 and connecting portions 62, 63 remaining, the paired terminals 20 are separated, and the terminal arms 26 are bent as needed (step ST1). Next, as described above, the sensor chip 30 is inserted into the housing space 11 (step ST2), the rod-shaped portion 21 is inserted into the housing space 11 (step ST3), and the electric wires 40 are connected to the terminal crimping portions 24 and 25 respectively (step ST4). The sensor 100 in the assembled state up to this point is shown in the perspective view of Figure 12. As shown in Figure 12, the carrier portion 64 is still present in this state, and the carrier portion 64 is removed before the molding process in which the entire sensor is covered with the outer shell member 50. The carrier portion 64 is removed from the sensor 100 in the state shown in Figure 12, and the other end of the electric wire 40 that is not crimped is left exposed and set in the mold (step ST5). Resin is then injected from above and the sensor is completed by injection molding (step ST6). Steps 1 to 6 do not necessarily have to be performed in this order, but by leaving the carrier portion 64 in place until the position of the terminals 20 is fixed during assembly, there is no need to prepare a jig during assembly, thus improving the workability of assembly.

[0036] With the above configuration, a sensor with good assembly workability can be provided. Although the sensor 100 of this embodiment has been described assuming a temperature sensor, it may also be an acceleration sensor or can be applied to various other sensors.

[0037] In this embodiment, the electrical connection between the terminal 20 and the electric wire 40 is made by crimping the wire crimping parts 24 and 25 to the electric wire 40. However, the method of electrical connection is not limited to crimping. Alternatively, the terminal 20 and the electric wire 40 may be electrically connected by methods such as soldering, crimping, or piercing.

[0038] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be appropriately improved without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 100 sensors 10 Housing 11 Containment space 20 terminals 30 sensor chips 40 Electric wire 50 Outer shell member

Claims

1. A housing having an internal storage space, The sensor chip housed in the aforementioned housing space, A pair of terminals extending from the entrance of the housing space toward the depth of the housing space and in contact with the side surface of the sensor chip in the width direction perpendicular to the depth direction, The wire connected to the aforementioned terminal, Equipped with, The terminal has two rod-shaped portions that branch into two within the housing space and extend side by side in the width direction, with one rod-shaped portion located on the sensor chip side elastically contacting the side surface of the sensor chip, and the other rod-shaped portion positioned along the side wall in the width direction of the housing space.

2. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the other rod-shaped portion of the terminal is in contact with the inner wall in the depth direction of the housing space.

3. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein a taper is formed on one of the rod-shaped portions of the pair of terminals.

4. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is press-fitted with the electric wire on the outside of the housing.

5. The terminal has a pressure contact portion that is pressed against the electric wire on the outside of the housing, The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pressure contact portion is provided with a groove narrower than the diameter of the electric wire, and the electric wire deforms to conform to the shape of the groove and is pressure-contacted with the terminal.

6. A first pressure contact portion is provided where one of the pair of terminals is pressure-contacted with the electric wire, It has a second pressure contact portion to which the other terminal of the pair of terminals is pressure-contacted with the electric wire, The sensor according to claim 4, wherein the positions of the first pressure contact portion and the second pressure contact portion are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire.

7. The sensor according to claim 1, which includes the housing that houses the sensor chip and the pair of terminals, and is covered and molded by an outer shell member made of an insulating material.

Images