Modular Sensor Contacting Module for Compact Installation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pressure and temperature sensors face challenges in high-volume production due to limited installation space, difficulty in handling thin leads, increased risk of short circuits, and ensuring vibrational resistance, particularly in applications like air-conditioning systems and automotive sectors.
Innovation Solution
A modular design with a separate contacting module that uses prebent connector contact pins and a connecting element with grooves for precise alignment and electrical connection, allowing for secure, vibration-resistant connections and facilitating high-volume production by avoiding direct integration of sensing elements in the sensor housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If sensing elements with thin leads are used to save installation space, then the installation space requirement is reduced, but the handling difficulty increases and the risk of short circuits increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is divided into modular components: a sensor body housing and a separate contacting module. The sensing elements are integrated into the sensor body, while the contacting module with prebent connector contact pins handles the electrical connections. This segmentation allows the sensing elements to be positioned in narrow spaces without requiring manual handling of thin leads during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector contact pins are prebent into the required configuration before assembly. This preliminary shaping of the contacts eliminates the need to manually bend thin leads during production, making assembly easier and reducing the risk of short circuits while maintaining compact dimensions.
2Device complexity
If sensing elements are directly integrated in the sensor housing, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases due to limited installation space
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into a sensor body housing containing the sensing elements and a separate contacting module. This modular design allows each component to be manufactured and assembled independently, reducing the overall manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining compact integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The contacting module acts as an intermediary between the sensing elements in the sensor body and the external electrical connections. This intermediate module with prebent connector contact pins facilitates precise electrical connections without requiring the sensing elements themselves to be precisely positioned in narrow spaces.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional contacting methods are used, then the ease of manufacture is maintained, but the vibrational resistance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector contact pins are designed with prebent geometry that provides inherent mechanical strength and flexibility. This dynamic design allows the contacts to withstand vibrations and mechanical stresses while maintaining reliable electrical connections, improving vibrational resistance without complicating the manufacturing process.
4Volume of moving object
If thin leads are used for sensing elements, then the installation space is reduced, but the reliability decreases due to increased short circuit risk
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing elements are integrated into the sensor body housing as a separate module from the contacting module. This segmentation isolates the thin leads within the protected sensor body, reducing their exposure and the risk of short circuits while maintaining compact dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The contacting module with prebent connector contact pins serves as an intermediary that establishes reliable electrical connections without requiring thin leads to extend outside the sensor body. This intermediate connection point reduces the risk of short circuits while maintaining compact installation space.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor which encompasses at least one sensing element for recording at least one measured quantity. The sensor also has one sensor body for holding the sensing element. The sensing element has at least one connecting lead. The sensor has a modular design and includes a contacting module, whose design is separate from that of the sensor body, for electrically contacting the sensing element. The contacting module has at least one connecting element and at least one connector contact pin, the connector contact pin being surrounded in at least one connection region by the connecting element. The connector contact pin is electrically connected to the connecting lead.