Texas Instruments Corporation

Other

Douglas B Strott

Keith W Kawate

Steven Beringhause

Robert P Bishop

Sepideh H Nott

Larry K Johnson

Thomas Richard Maher

Dale R Sogge

Carleton M Cobb, Iii

Robert O Southworth

Leo Marcoux

Carlton E Sanford

Thomas J Charboneau

Edward M Gonsalves

Eric P Reidemeister

Stephen B Offiler

Bryan J Dague

Raymond E Mandeville

Robert Louis Bartosh

John M Armacost

Richard J Balcarek

Richard L Balcarek

Thomas Wiecek

Keith D St Pierre

Timothy White

George J Lombardo

A combined fluid pressure and temperature sensor device 10 has a variable capacitor (14) formed of a rigid substrate (14a) and flexible diaphragm (14b) attached thereto in sealed, spaced apart relation by an annular glass seal (34). The capacitor is received in a fluid passage chamber (12e) of a housing (12) having a fluid port (12b) for coupling to a fluid pressure source to be monitored. A connector (20) mounting transducer terminal pins is received in an open end of the housing with an electric circuit chamber (20d) formed between the connector and the variable capacitor which receives signal conditioning circuitry (26). A temperature responsive thermistor (32) is disposed, in one embodiment, on the exposed face of the diaphragm and is provided with electrical traces (32a, 32b) which go through apertures 14k, 14j) in the diaphragm into electrical contact with connection pads on the substrate within a glass enclosed window (34k, 34j). Traces (32e, 32f) extend from the connection pads through the glass seal to additional glass enclosed windows (34g, 34h) for connection with respective pins (30d, 30e) extending through the substrate to form a hermetic seal between the thermistor (32) and the signal conditioning circuit chamber through the annular glass seal. Additional embodiments include a leaded thermistor (42) positioned in the fluid pressure port (40), a leaded thermistor in a protective sleeve adapted to project into a fluid body (50), a leaded thermistor in which the leads are bent to place the thermistor adjacent to the diaphragm (60), a thermistor mounted on a heat conductive probe with a thermistor proximate to the diaphragm and with the probe extending therebeyond (70) a thermistor received on the substrate through an aperture in the diaphragm in a closed glass window (80) and a thermistor combined with a monolithic variable capacitor (90).

Combined pressure responsive transducer and temperature sensor apparatus

A fluid pressure sensor particularly useful for measuring pressure up to approximately 2000 psi has a hexport (12, 112, 212, 312) formed with a stop surface (26, 326) in a bottom wall (18) circumscribing a fluid pressure inlet (16). A pressure sensing module (22) is received on the stop surface and a distal end (40) of a wall (20, 120, 320) of the hexport is crimped to lock the pressure sensing module onto the stop surface with the stop surface limiting the amount of compression of an O-ring (30) disposed contiguous to and inboard of the stop surface. In one embodiment the crimp is placed directly on a metal ring (38) attached to a plastic connector (32) which in turn transfers the crimping force to the pressure sensing module. In other embodiments (FIGS. 2, 3) the crimp is placed directly in the pressure sensing module to form a subassembly. In one embodiment, a separate sleeve (142) member connects the subassembly to the plastic connector while in another embodiment the connector is provided with an extended skirt which snaps over the hexport to connect the connector to the subassembly. In yet another embodiment, the plastic connector (332) is formed with a strengthening flange (334) received around the pressure sensing module and the crimp is formed directly on the plastic connectors to reduce contact stresses in the crimp and compensate for crimp wall springback.

High pressure sensor apparatus with low cost compact packaging system

An acceleration sensor (10, 10', 10') in which a metal blade member (24) having a source plate portion (24a), attachment portion (24p) and integral resilient beams (24b) extending between the source plate portion and the attachment portion is attached to a pin (22) received in turn in a bore (18a) of a substrate (18). The metal blade member (24) is mounted on the substrate (18) so that the source plate portion is a selected distance from a detect plate (18b) mounted on the substrate. The sensor is disposed in a cylindrical housing (12, 12', 12') which can be directly mounted to a circuit board (50) through terminal pins (18g, 18h, 18i) or can be provided with a threaded fastener (12'd). In one embodiment first and second sensor modules are received in a housing (42) to sense acceleration forces in two perpendicular directions. In another embodiment tab (30b) extending from a signal conditioning circuit (30) is placed between a connector body (20') and the sidewall (12b) of housing (12) with a detent (12c) formed in the sidewall (12b) to effect an electrical connection between circuit (30) and housing (12'). An O-ring gasket (13) is placed between the sidewall (12b) and the connector body (20') outboard of the detent to provide an environmental seal.

Compact capacitive acceleration sensor

A monolithic capacitive differential pressure transducer (68, 156, 170) is shown composed of ceramic material having first and second cavities formed adjacent to opposed face surfaces to form first and second flexible diaphragms (70, 72; 110, 140; 172, 174) and a motion transfer pin (74, 124/130, 202) attached to and extending between the diaphragms. Capacitor plates are disposed on opposed rigid platform members (76, 78; 100, 126; 184, 194). Component parts are first pressed from ceramic powder and assembled into a unit using one of several methods including a selected amount of pressure to press them together or using a combination of low pressure along with raising the temperature of the material to soften the binder in the ceramic material at surfaces of the parts which are to be joined together. Selected gaps, both along the x-y direction and along the z direction may be obtained using consumable spacer material which is sublimated in a debinderization cycle prior to sintering of the unit to form a monolithic body.

Pressure transducer apparatus having a rigid member extending between

An electrothermal sensor is shown having an electrically conductive substrate, an electrically insulating layer disposed on the substrate, a first thermistor disposed on a central region of the electrically insulating layer, a second thermistor disposed adjacent an edge of the electrically insulating layer, an electrical coupling device on the electrically insulating layer for coupling the first and second thermistors externally of the electrically insulating layer and a pair of electrical connecting devices coupled to the substrate and passing through the electrically insulating layer, the first thermistor being disposed between the pair of electrical connecting devices.

Electrothermal sensor

A transducer arrangement comprising a magnetoresistive transducer including a magnetoresistive element responsive to magnetic flux passing therethrough in a predetermined direction to change its electrical resistance as a function of the intensity of the magnetic flux in the predetermined direction and a magnet to provide said magnetic flux. The transducer can include a permanent magnet having a planar surface with a magnetoresistive element offset from the axis of the magnet and optionally at an angle to the planar surface. The transducer can also include a concave surfaced magnet with the magnetoresistive element at an acute angle to the parallel flux lines emanating from the concave surface. As a further embodiment, the magnetoresistive element can be tilted on the magnet surface in two directions to provide a bias field and calibration. As a third embodiment, a high permeability pole piece can be positioned on the magnet surface between the magnet and the magnetoresistive element to minimize field variation due to nonuniformities in the magnet. There is also provided a module including an aluminum bracket mountable at the fore portion thereof and containing a magnetoresistive transducer circuit at the aft portion thereof, the circuit being coupled to a semiconductor circuit disposed at the center of the bracket. An epoxy resin encases the transducer circuit and semiconductor circuit as well as an optional cable or electrical connector at the fore portion of the bracket.

Speed/position sensor calibration method with angular adjustment of a

A torque sensing device has a torque transmitting member with ends which are relatively rotatable around a member axis in response to an applied torque. Lost motion components rotating with the member ends have portions compactly extending along the member axis to engage the other component to limit such rotation after a predetermined degree of relative rotation has occurred. Two ferromagnetic elements rotating with the respective lost motion components have portions which extend along the member axis into interleaved relation with corresponding portions of the other element to form spaced pairs of respective element portions at each of two sides of a plane which extends transversely across the member axis. The elements respond to relative rotation of the torque transmitting member ends to proportionally increase the spacing in the pairs of element portions at one side of the noted plane and to decrease the spacing in the pairs of element portions at an opposite side of the plane. An exciting coil surrounding the elements induces magnetic leakage flux at the spacing of the pairs of element portions representative of the degree of spacing and a pair of sensing coils disposed around the elements are coupled to that magnetic leakage flux at respective sides of the noted plane. The sensing coils are differentially connected to provide an output signal corresponding to the applied torque.

Torque sensing device

An automotive transmission control is shown having pressure switches to sense the state of actuation of solenoid valves to provide logic signals to a microprocessor type of transmission control. The pressure switches, which sense the pressure of hydraulic fluid used to actuate the solenoid valves, use a dished shaped metallic diaphragm characterized in that the pressure-deflection curve of the center of the diaphragm has minimal hysteresis and reflects that the diaphragm is relatively stiff having a positive coefficient of pressure with increasing deflection up to and above a range of set point pressures within which the effective spring rate of the diaphragm changes with the diaphragm being relatively supple but having little or no negative coefficient of pressure. In a first embodiment a housing is shown in which a conductive lead pattern is molded in the housing with a plurality of switching stations. Each switching station has a circular diaphragm formed with an annular flat berm portion which lies on a portion of the conductive lead pattern and is sealed by an 'O' ring biased against the berm by a sleeve which interfaces with the hydraulic fluid. An electrically conductive rivet is placed beneath the diaphragm within a specific distance from a plane on which the berm lies so that a circuit will be closed upon sufficient deflection of the diaphragm. The housing mounts electrical contacts for energizing the solenoid valves and a pin connector coupled to the conductive lead pattern. Other embodiments are shown using diaphragms having the same pressure-deflection curve.

Automotive transmission control system and improved longevity therefor

Growing community of inventors

Attleboro, MA, United States of America

Douglas B Strott