Variable Interval Wire Loop Electrode for Vehicle Sensor
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Non-contact operation sensing devices for vehicles face decreased sensing accuracy due to parasitic capacitance generated by metal components like hitches, which complicates the design and increases manufacturing costs, especially when dedicated sensors are required for vehicles with and without hitches.
Innovation Solution
The capacitance sensor features wire loop electrodes with narrower intervals between electric wire portions near metal components, reducing parasitic capacitance and maintaining sensing accuracy without the need for additional shield electrodes, allowing for common sensor components across different vehicle configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a wire loop electrode is provided near a metal component (hitch), then the sensing device can be used in vehicles with metal components, but the sensing accuracy decreases due to parasitic capacitance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the interval between wire portions variable along the wire loop electrode. Specifically, the interval is made narrower at portions closer to metal components and wider at portions farther from them. This localized adjustment allows the sensor to adapt to different spatial relationships with metal components while maintaining sensing accuracy in the required regions.
2Measurement precision
If a shield electrode is added to suppress parasitic capacitance influence, then sensing accuracy is maintained, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for shield electrodes by using a different approach. Instead of adding shield electrodes to counteract parasitic capacitance, the invention modifies the wire loop electrode itself by creating regions with narrower intervals between wire portions. This extracts the shielding function from a separate component and integrates it into the electrode structure itself, reducing overall device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If dedicated capacitance sensors are designed for vehicles with and without hitches, then sensing accuracy is optimized for each configuration, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single capacitance sensor structure that can be used for both vehicles with and without metal components like hitches. The wire loop electrode with variable intervals (narrower near potential metal component locations, wider elsewhere) provides a universal solution that maintains sensing accuracy across different vehicle configurations without requiring dedicated sensor designs for each case.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the interval between wire portions is uniformly narrow throughout the wire loop electrode, then parasitic capacitance is reduced, but sensing accuracy decreases in regions away from metal components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by applying local quality - the interval between wire portions is not uniformly narrow throughout, but is specifically narrower only at portions closer to metal components where parasitic capacitance is problematic. At portions farther from metal components, the interval can be wider, maintaining optimal sensing accuracy. This localized differentiation allows the sensor to optimize for both parasitic capacitance reduction and sensing accuracy in different spatial regions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively suppresses the decrease in sensing accuracy caused by parasitic capacitance from metal components, reducing manufacturing costs and increasing productivity by enabling the use of common sensor components for vehicles with varying metal component installations.
Implementation Method 1
a capacitance sensor having one electric wire that is attached to a portion near a location where a metal component is provided in a vehicle body, is folded to have portions arranged in parallel, and forms a wire loop electrode whose capacitance changes according to a non-contact operation with respect to the vehicle body
Implementation Method 2
the influence of the parasitic capacitance constantly generated between the metal component of the vehicle body such as a skeletal material and the wire loop electrode on the sensing accuracy is suppressed
Data Source
AI summary
A non-contact operation sensing device for a vehicle includes: a capacitance sensor having one electric wire that is attached to a portion near a location where a metal component is provided in a vehicle body, is folded to have portions arranged in parallel, and forms a wire loop electrode whose capacitance changes according to a non-contact operation with respect to the vehicle body, wherein an interval between the portions of the electric wire arranged in parallel in the wire loop electrode is narrower at a portion close to the metal component than at a portion distant from the metal component.