Eaton Corporation

David A Belfi

Thomas A Gee

Donald R Haefner

Dennis R Zitny

Richard W Gibson

Transducer housing for mounting in a port in an engine combustion chamber has a metal diaphragm exposed to the combustion gasses. The pressure of the combustion gasses is transferred through an aluminum coupling disc which deflects a simply supported beam member. The beam member is formed of refractory material having epitaxially grown crystalline piezoresistors formed on one surface of the beam member and connected in a bridge circuit and is secured to a ceramic mounting disc. The aluminum coupling disc has a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion which maintains a preload on the beam member for improved accuracy in spite of the low thermal expansion of the ceramic mounting disc. In an alternate embodiment, an expansion ring made of a material having a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion is used to support a mounting disc on which the beam member is supported. The high expansion rate of the expansion ring maintains a preload between the beam member and a cup diaphragm by compensating for the relatively low expansion of the ceramic mounting disc.

Engine cylinder pressure sensor with thermal compensation element

A fluid coupling assembly (11) in which the fluid coupling (43) is disposed within a coolant cavity (C) defined by an engine block (B) of an internal combustion engine. The fluid coupling includes an input coupling assembly (45) and disposed therein is an output coupling member (55), the input and output cooperating to define forward (61,65) and rearward (63,67) viscous shear areas to optimize torque capacity of the coupling. The input coupling assembly (45) includes a rearward body member (49) disposed within the cavity (C) and which includes impeller blades (73), such that the member (49) also serves as the water pump for the engine.

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Royal Oak, MI, United States of America

David A Belfi