CN214748607U

CN214748607U - Sensor with a sensor element

Info

Publication number: CN214748607U
Application number: CN202120649353.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李琳龙; 万霞; 饶欢欢; 金骑宏; 黄隆重; 黄宁杰
Original assignee: Hangzhou Sanhua Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Sanhua Research Institute Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-30
Filing date: 2021-03-30
Publication date: 2021-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-30

Abstract

A sensor is provided that includes a housing and a circuit board assembly; the circuit board assembly comprises a board body, a pressure sensing element and an electronic element; the sensor has a first cavity, a second cavity and a flow channel; the first cavity and the second cavity are positioned on different sides of the plate body in the height direction of the sensor, and the first cavity and the flow channel are positioned on different sides of the plate body in the height direction of the sensor; the first cavity is not communicated with the flow channel; the second cavity is not communicated with the flow channel; the surface of the plate body is provided with a first area and a second area, the first area faces the first cavity, and the second area faces the second cavity; conductive circuits are uniformly distributed in the first area and the second area of the plate body; the conductive circuit distributed in the first area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element; the conducting circuit distributed in the second area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element. The board utilization ratio of its circuit board assembly's of sensor board body of this application is higher.

Description

Sensor with a sensor element

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of signal detection devices, in particular to a sensor.

Background

One sensor in the related art includes a housing, a circuit board, a pressure sensing unit, and the like. The circuit board is provided with a plurality of conductive circuits and a plurality of electronic elements, the sensor is provided with accommodating cavities and flow channels which are positioned on different sides of the thickness direction of the circuit board, and the flow channels are not communicated with the accommodating cavities. The electronic element and the pressure sensing unit are electrically connected with the conducting circuit on the circuit board.

The fluid can usually directly contact with the board surface of the circuit board close to the flow channel, so that in order to avoid the fluid from corroding the conductive circuit and the electronic elements of the circuit board, the conductive circuit of the circuit board, the electronic elements distributed on the circuit board and the like are positioned on one side of the circuit board far away from the flow channel in the thickness direction. Therefore, the space of the board surface on the side of the circuit board close to the flow channel is wasted in the related art, and the related art needs to be improved.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

An object of the application is to provide a sensor that is favorable to improving circuit board face utilization ratio.

In one aspect, the present application provides a sensor comprising a housing and a circuit board assembly; at least a portion of the circuit board assembly is located within the housing; the circuit board assembly comprises a board body, a pressure sensing element and an electronic element, wherein the pressure sensing element and the electronic element are fixed with the board body; the sensor has a first cavity, a second cavity, and a flow channel;

the first cavity and the second cavity are located on different sides of the plate body in the height direction of the sensor, and the first cavity and the flow channel are located on different sides of the plate body in the height direction of the sensor; the first cavity is not communicated with the flow passage; the second cavity is not communicated with the flow passage;

the surface of the plate body has a first region facing the first cavity and a second region facing the second cavity;

conductive circuits are uniformly distributed in the first area and the second area of the plate body; the conducting circuit distributed in the first area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element; and the conducting circuit distributed in the second area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element.

The application provides a sensor, the regional equipartition of first region and second on this body surface of board be equipped with forced induction component and/or electronic component electric connection's conducting wire, the fluid that flows in the runner is difficult to contact and corrodes the first region and the second region of board body, is favorable to making the board body of sensor all have the circuit arrangement of reliable relatively in the different sides along sensor direction of height, and board body plate face utilization ratio is higher.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sensor according to the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the sensor shown in FIG. 1 at another angle;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a portion of the sensor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another exploded perspective view of a portion of the sensor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of a sensor of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of another sensor of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of the sensor shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of another angle of the sensor shown in FIG. 6;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a pressure sensing module according to the present application;

FIG. 10 is another schematic cross-sectional view of the pressure sensing module shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an exploded schematic view of a portion of the components of a sensor of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of a portion of the assembly of the sensor shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of yet another sensor of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the sensor shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a valve assembly of the present application;

fig. 16 is a corresponding cross-sectional schematic view of the valve assembly shown in fig. 15.

Detailed Description

In the fields of automobile air conditioners, household air conditioners, commercial air conditioners and the like, refrigerants are important heat exchange fluids in such heat management systems, and the pressure of the refrigerants is usually large, for example, to reach 500Psi in a general scene, the pressure change and the temperature change of the refrigerants are usually monitored through sensors.

Referring to fig. 1 to 14, a sensor 100 provided by the present application may be integrated with various valve components, such as a valve component formed by being installed on a valve body alone, or an electronic expansion valve, a thermal expansion valve, a solenoid valve, etc. The sensor 100 may be used to detect a temperature parameter of the refrigerant, and in some scenarios, may be used to detect both a temperature parameter and a pressure parameter of the refrigerant. Of course, the sensor 100 provided herein may also be used to detect pressure and temperature parameters of other fluids.

The sensor 100 provided by one embodiment of the present application includes a housing 1 and a circuit board assembly. At least part of the circuit board assembly is located within the housing 1. That is, the sensor 100 is provided with an internal cavity 200, and the housing 1 encloses at least part of the internal cavity 200.

The circuit board assembly includes a board body 2, a pressure sensitive element 4, and an electronic component 20. The pressure-sensitive element 4 and the electronic component 20 are fixed to the board body 2. The pressure-sensitive element 4 and the electronic component 20 are both in an electrically connected relationship with the board body 2. The board body 2 may be a complete circuit board, or may be formed by assembling a plurality of circuit boards, or may be an assembly structure in which the circuit boards are fixedly assembled together with non-circuit boards. As long as the board body 2 can provide circuit support for the pressure-sensitive element 4 and the electronic component 20.

Sensor 100 has a first cavity 201, a second cavity 202, and a flow channel 203. The first cavity 201 and the second cavity 202 are located on different sides of the plate body 2 in the height direction H of the sensor 100, and the first cavity 201 and the flow channel 203 are located on different sides of the plate body 2 in the height direction H of the sensor 100. The first chamber 201 is not in communication with the flow passage 203. The second chamber 202 is not in communication with the flow passage 203. The height direction H of the sensor 100 may refer to the direction indicated by the line segment with the double arrow in fig. 1. The second cavity 202 and the flow channel 203 are located on the same side of the plate body 2 (i.e., on the lower side of the plate body 2 in the figure) in the height direction H of the sensor 100, and correspondingly, the first cavity 201 is located on the upper side of the plate body 2. An alternative is that the plate body 2, when assembled in the housing 1, cooperates with the housing 1 to spatially divide the internal cavity 200 of the sensor 100. The first and

second cavities

201, 202 are each part of the internal cavity 200 of the sensor 100. The first chamber 201 and the second chamber 202 may or may not be in communication. A fluid may be circulated through the flow channel 203. To avoid fluid from entering the first chamber 201 and the second chamber 202, both the first chamber 201 and the second chamber 202 need to be physically isolated from the flow channel 203.

The surface of the plate body 2 has a first region 11 and a second region 12, the first region 11 facing the first cavity 201. The second region 12 faces the second cavity 202. In some embodiments, the surface of the plate body 2 further comprises a third region 13, the third region 13 facing the flow channel 203. The first region 11 and the second region 12 of the board body 2 are uniformly provided with conductive traces. The conductive circuit disposed in the first region 11 of the board body 2 is electrically connected to the pressure sensing element 4 and/or the electronic element 20. The conductive circuit disposed in the second region 12 of the board body 2 is electrically connected to the pressure sensing element 4 and/or the electronic element 20. The surface of the plate body 2 in the third region 13 may be an insulating material. Such as ceramic. Or, conductive traces may also be disposed on the surface of the third region 13 of the board body 2, but the conductive traces disposed in the third region 13 are electrically isolated from the conductive traces disposed in the first region 11, and the conductive traces disposed in the third region 13 are electrically isolated from the conductive traces disposed in the second region 12. In this way, even if the fluid can contact the conductive traces of the third region 13, the conductive traces of the third region 13 are electrically isolated from the conductive traces corresponding to the first region 11 and the second region 12, and if the conductive traces of the third region 13 are corroded by the fluid, the conductive traces running in the first region 11 and the second region 12 are not affected substantially. The number of the electronic components 20 may be larger, and a plurality of electronic components 20 are distributed in the first region 11 and/or the second region 12 of the board body 2.

In the related art, since the fluid usually contacts the lower surface of the board body 2, the lower surface of the board body 2 is not provided with the conductive circuit and the electronic component 20, which is beneficial to preventing the fluid from corroding the circuit board and improving the service life of the sensor 100 to a certain extent. In the present application, the first area 11 and the second area 12 on the surface of the board body 2 are both provided with conductive traces, and the conductive traces and the electronic component 20 can fully utilize the space between the first area 11 and the second area 12 of the board body 2, so that the utilization rate of the surface space circuit of the board body 2 is high, which is beneficial to realizing more circuit functions, and is also beneficial to reducing the radial dimension of the circuit board perpendicular to the thickness direction thereof, so as to be more beneficial to the miniaturization of the sensor 100.

In some embodiments, the pressure sensing element 4 has a pressure sensing area 411 exposed to the flow channel 203, and the pressure sensing element 4 may be a single pressure sensing element 4 or may integrate both pressure sensing and temperature sensing functions.

In some embodiments provided herein, the pressure sensing element 4 is specifically a pressure sensing chip with a back pressure type, and the circuit board assembly processes the pressure signal sensed by the pressure sensing element 4 according to a certain logic algorithm and converts the processed pressure signal into a corresponding voltage value or current value or other detectable electrical signal values. The sensor 100 may further include a Temperature sensing element 3, the Temperature sensing element 3 may be an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) Negative Temperature Coefficient Temperature measuring element with an elongated pin, the Temperature sensing element 3 includes a Temperature sensing head 31 and a conductive pin 32, the Temperature sensing head 31 is provided with a Temperature sensing area 311, which may be a packaged thermistor, the outer surface of which is coated with a resin composite material and has a certain corrosion resistance, the Temperature sensing area 311 may be directly contacted with a fluid, in the manner shown in fig. 5, the conductive pin 32 of the Temperature sensing element 3 is at least partially fixed with the housing 1 of the sensor 100, the housing 1 may protect the conductive pin 32 to reduce the shaking and falling risk of the conductive pin 32, the conductive pin 32 of the Temperature sensing element 3 may be electrically connected to a circuit board assembly, that is, the conductive wire of the first area 11 or the second area 12 of the board body 2 is connected, and the Temperature sensing head 31 is relatively far away from the conductive wire of the Temperature sensing element 3 From the circuit board assembly, the temperature sensing region 311 may thus contact the refrigerant earlier, reducing temperature loss in the fluid transmission path, facilitating a reduction in the induced temperature difference, and improving the accuracy of the sensed temperature signal of the temperature sensing element 3. In other embodiments, the temperature sensing element 3 may also be a surface mount component, which is not limited in this application.

In some embodiments, the plate body 2 is provided with a guide hole 51, the guide hole 51 being formed with a first aperture 511 in the first region 11 of the plate body 2, the guide hole 51 being formed with a second aperture 512 in the third region 13 of the plate body 2. The guide hole 51 is at least a part of the flow passage 203, the pressure-sensitive element 4 is at least partially located in the first cavity 201, and the pressure-sensitive element 4 is fixed to the plate body 2 in a sealing manner on the outer peripheral side of the first orifice 511.

In some embodiments, the plate body 2 includes a first plate body 101 and a second plate body 102. Both the first plate body 101 and the second plate body 102 may be plate-shaped elements having a certain thickness. Second plate 102 is located below first plate 101 in a height direction H of sensor 100. The first plate 101 and the second plate 102 are fixed to each other. The lower surface of the second plate body 102 comprises a third area 13. Specifically, the first plate body 101 has a first surface 21 and a second surface 22 on different sides in the thickness direction thereof, and the second plate body 102 has a third surface 23 and a fourth surface 24 on different sides in the thickness direction thereof. Second plate 102 is located on the side of second surface 22 of first plate 101, and second surface 22 of first plate 101 is adjacent to third surface 23 of second plate 102.

Alternatively, the first board 101 is a common resin circuit board or ceramic circuit board, and the second board 102 is a ceramic plate without a circuit or a ceramic circuit board with a circuit only on the upper surface. Thus, the lower surface of the second plate 102 may be a ceramic insulating region, and the hardness and corrosion resistance of the ceramic material are better.

First plate 101 is provided with a cutout portion 25 extending through the plate, i.e., cutout portion 25 extends through first surface 21 and second surface 22 of first plate 101. The notched portion 25 is a part of the first chamber 201. The pressure sensitive element 4 is at least partially housed in the cutout portion 25. The guide hole 51 is provided in the second plate 102. The pressure sensing element 4 is fixed to the second plate 102. Specifically, the core portion 41 of the pressure-sensitive element 4 is fixed to the upper surface (the third surface 23) of the second plate 102 at the periphery of the guide hole 51 by bonding, eutectic welding, or the like.

The second plate 102 may be integrated with the pressure sensing element 4 to form an integrated pressure sensing module, which may be separately manufactured and sold. This has the advantage that the product assembly process of the sensor 100 is more convenient. More customization needs can be achieved. Especially, when the product size requirements of the sensor 100 are not uniform, for example, the size of the first plate 101 is not uniform, and the size of the housing 1 is not uniform, the pressure sensing module with uniform size and uniform specification can be processed and prepared, as long as the second plate 102 of the pressure sensing module can be fixedly connected with the first plate 101. The same pressure sensing module can be adapted to other structures of different types and specifications of the sensor 100. The adaptability and the application range of the product are increased.

Sensor 100 further includes a fixing member 26, and first plate 101 is provided with a first receiving hole 52, and first receiving hole 52 penetrates first surface 21 and second surface 22 of first plate 101. The first accommodation hole 52 is located at the periphery of the notch portion 25. The second plate 102 is provided with a second receiving hole 53. The second receiving hole 53 penetrates through the third surface 23 and the fourth surface 24 of the second plate body 102. A portion of the fixing element 26 is received in the first receiving hole 52, another portion of the fixing element 26 is received in the second receiving hole 53, the fixing element 26 is fixed to the first plate 101 at the first receiving hole 52, and the fixing element 26 is fixed to the second plate 102 at the second receiving hole 53. The fixing member 26 may be fixed to the first plate 101 and the second plate 102 by spot soldering. The fixing member 26 and the wall portion of the first plate 101 forming the first accommodation hole 52 may be fixed in a sealing manner by solder, and the fixing member 26 and the wall portion of the second plate 102 forming the second accommodation hole 53 may be fixed in a sealing manner by solder.

In some embodiments, the first board 101 and the second board 102 are both circuit boards, and the upper surface (the first surface 21) and the lower surface (the second surface 22) of the first board 101 are both provided with conductive traces. Conductive circuits are distributed on the upper surface (the third surface 23) of the second plate 102, no conductive circuit is distributed on the lower surface (the fourth surface 24) of the second plate 102, and at least part of the material of the lower surface of the second plate 102 is ceramic or other corrosion-resistant material. The first board 101 and the second board 102 may be electrically connected, and optionally, the fixing element 26 is electrically connected to the conductive traces disposed on the first surface 21 and/or the second surface 22 of the first board 101, and the fixing element 26 is electrically connected to the conductive traces disposed on the third surface 23 of the second board 102. In this way, the first board 101 and the second board 102 are indirectly electrically interconnected by the fixing member 26.

First plate 101 has first side 27 attached to its upper and lower surfaces, i.e., first side 27 is attached between first surface 21 and second surface 22 of first plate 101. The second plate body 102 has a second side surface 28 connected to the upper and lower surfaces thereof, i.e., the second side surface 28 is connected between the third surface 23 and the fourth surface 24 of the second plate body 102. The first side surface 27 is closer to the outer peripheral side of the sensor 100 than the second side surface 28. That is, the second plate 102 may be relatively small in size. In an actual product, a large and inexpensive resin circuit board may be selected as the first plate 101, and a small-sized ceramic plate or ceramic circuit board may be selected as the second plate 102, so that cost may be saved, and reliability and lifespan of the product may be improved by contacting a ceramic material having a better corrosion resistance with a fluid.

The pressure sensing element 4 can be manufactured by a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) technology, and the size of the pressure sensing element 4 manufactured by the MEMS technology is small, and the corresponding product size is generally in the millimeter level, or even smaller. Referring to fig. 5 and 12, the pressure-sensitive element 4 includes a core portion 41, and the core portion 41 has a pressure-sensing area 411 exposed to the flow channel 203. The core part 41 may seal one end of the guide hole 51. The guide hole 51 is a part of the flow passage 203. The pressure sensing element 4 is provided with a sensing chamber 43, and the sensing chamber 43 is communicated with the guide hole 51. The pressure sensing area 411 is at least partially exposed to the sensing chamber 43. One end of the connecting portion 42 is connected to the core portion 41, and the other end of the connecting portion 42 is connected to a conductive trace disposed on the upper surface of the second board 102. Of course, the other end of the connecting portion 42 may be connected to a conductive circuit disposed on the upper surface (first surface 21) of the first board 101.

The core body 41 of the pressure sensing element 4 is of a three-layer structure, and includes a substrate layer, an intermediate layer, and a top layer, the substrate layer and the intermediate layer enclose and form a sensing cavity 43 with an opening, the pressure sensing element 4 may further include a vacuum cavity, the vacuum cavity may be enclosed and formed by the top layer and the intermediate layer, the vacuum cavity is disposed on the other side of the sensing cavity 43 away from the guide hole 51, the vacuum cavity is not communicated with the sensing cavity 43, and the vacuum cavity is favorable for ensuring that the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensing area is absolute pressure, of course, some pressure sensing elements 4 may not be provided with a vacuum cavity, and accordingly, the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensing area is relative pressure. The substrate layer can be a glass substrate, the middle layer can be a silicon crystal cell material, and the top layer can also be a glass material. The pressure sensing element 4 is a backpressure type pressure sensing chip, fluid enters the sensing cavity 43 from a small hole at the bottom of the pressure sensing element 4, the front surface of the backpressure type pressure sensing element 4 is not contacted with the fluid, the silicon wafer middle layer of the chip part 41 is provided with a pressure sensing area exposed in the sensing cavity 43, the pressure sensing area realizes pressure detection through a piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge, when a circuit is connected, when no pressure acts on a thin film of the silicon element, the Wheatstone bridge is balanced, and the output voltage is 0. When pressure is applied to the thin film of the silicon cell, the balance of the Wheatstone bridge is broken and a voltage is output. Therefore, the pressure change can be reflected by the change of the electric signal in the detection circuit, so that the pressure detection function is realized.

Of course, in some other embodiments, the pressure sensing element 4 may not be provided with the sensing cavity 43, i.e., the core portion 41 of the pressure sensing element 4 may be in the form of a film, which seals the first orifice 511 of the guide hole 51.

The fixing manner between the core portion 41 and the second plate body 102 includes one of bonding, eutectic welding, sintering fixing, and glass micro-melting fixing. In actual manufacturing, the fixing and sealing between the core portion 41 and the second plate 102 can be realized by selecting a sealant adhesive and a eutectic welding manner, and the process is simple and easy to realize. Fluid does not readily leak out of the guide hole 51 and the sensing chamber 43.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 7 and 8, the circuit board assembly further includes a protective cover 103, the protective cover 103 being at least partially located in the notch portion 25. The protective cover 103 includes a side wall portion 104 and a top wall portion 105 connected. The side wall portion 104 is located between the top wall portion 105 and the second plate body 102. The pressure-sensitive element 4 is located between the top wall portion 105 and the second plate body 102. The end of the side wall 104 remote from the top wall 105 is secured to the second plate 102. The end of the side wall portion 104 remote from the top wall portion 105 may be adhesively secured to the third surface 23 of the second plate 102. The second plate 102, the pressure sensing element 4 and the protection cover 103 may form an integrated pressure sensing module, which may be separately manufactured and sold.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 7 and 8, the circuit board assembly further comprises a sleeve 6. The sleeve 6 has a barrel wall 61 and a barrel cavity 62, the barrel cavity 62 being at least a portion of the flow passage 203. The cartridge wall 61 is located between the cartridge cavity 62 and the second cavity 202. The cartridge wall 61 may separate the cartridge cavity 62 and the second cavity 202. Fluid may flow upwardly through the cartridge chamber 62 into contact with the lower surface (fourth surface 24) of the second plate 102. And flows upwards through the guide hole 51 formed in the second plate 102 into the sensing cavity 43 of the pressure sensing element 4, and contacts with the pressure sensing area 411 exposed in the sensing cavity 43, so as to realize detection of corresponding fluid parameters.

The housing 1 comprises a transverse wall 14, both the transverse wall 14 and the sleeve 6 being located on the side of the lower face (fourth face 24) of the second plate 102. The transverse wall 14 is provided with a mating hole 131. The sleeve 6 is at least partially received in the mating bore 131. One end of the sleeve 6 in the axial direction is sealingly connected to the lower surface of the second plate 102. The outer peripheral side of the cylinder wall 61 is sealingly connected to a wall of the housing 1 forming the fitting hole 131. That is, there is a sealing position a between the outer periphery of the cylinder wall 61 and the wall of the hole forming the mating hole 131 of the housing 1, and there is another sealing position B between one axial end of the cylinder wall 61 and the second plate 102, and by the sealing of the two key positions, the fluid is not easy to enter the second cavity 202 from between the cylinder wall 61 and the housing 1 and between the cylinder wall 61 and the second plate 102, so that the sleeve 6, the housing 1 and the second plate 102 are mated with each other, so that the cylinder cavity 62 is formed as a liquid-tight channel with an opening at the bottom side. Specifically, the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical wall 61 and the wall of the hole forming the fitting hole 131 of the housing 1 may be sealed and fixed by soldering, laser welding, adhesion, ultrasonic welding, or the like, and the one end of the sleeve 6 in the axial direction and the lower surface of the second plate 102 may be sealed and fixed by soldering, laser welding, adhesion, or the like. During actual processing and manufacturing, the sleeve 6 and the second plate 102 can be sealed and fixed into a whole, then the assembly containing the sleeve 6 and the second plate 102 is installed in the shell 1, the sleeve 6 extends into the matching hole 131, and then fixation and sealing between the cylinder wall 61 and the shell 1 are achieved. Accordingly, the service life is longer than that of a sealing ring in a sealing and fixing mode in a high-temperature and high-pressure fluid environment.

The second board 102 may include a metal bonding portion covered on the fourth surface 24 thereof by a copper-clad process, where the copper-clad process is a process of using an idle space on the fourth surface 24 of the second board 102 as a reference surface and then filling the reference surface with solid copper, and the copper-clad process is a mature technology and is not described in detail herein. The material of the cylinder wall 61 of the sleeve 6 is metal, one axial end of the cylinder wall 61 of the sleeve 6 is connected with the metal combining part in a sealing mode through soldering, the soldering process is low in cost, the sealing effect is good, and the method is suitable for industrial production. The material of the lateral wall 14 of the housing 1 is also metal, and accordingly, the lateral wall 14 and the outer peripheral side of the cylinder wall 61 are sealed and fixed by laser welding. The laser welding has good sealing effect, and is more suitable for welding miniature parts and parts with poor accessibility. And laser welding also has characteristics such as heat input is low, welding deformation is little, and when processing manufacturing sensor 100, the major part can be assembled earlier, and laser welding can be as last manufacturing procedure, and its welding temperature is difficult to destroy other subassemblies, and this welding procedure is less to the influence of other subassembly assembly deformation. In some embodiments, sensor 100 further comprises a gasket 7. Gasket 7 is located in second cavity 202. The gasket 7 is compressed between the lower surface (fourth surface 24) of the second plate body 102 and the transverse wall 14. The provision of the gasket 7 herein provides a cushioning effect to the circuit board assembly when it is press fitted to the transverse wall 14, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the circuit board assembly by hard contact between the circuit board assembly and the inner wall surface of the transverse wall 14 facing the internal cavity 200. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the gasket 7 may be a sealing ring with certain elasticity, and the sealing ring used as the gasket 7 can also perform a double sealing function, thereby further facilitating the enhancement of the sealing performance of the sensor 100.

Of course, the sensor 100 may be provided without the gasket 7, and as shown in fig. 13, some step structure may be provided at the lateral wall 14 to support the circuit board assembly. Due to the small contact area of the circuit board assembly with the transverse wall 14, there is a corresponding small risk of crushing damage during assembly. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 13, the board body 2 is a complete circuit board, the pressure sensing element 4 is fixed on the upper surface of the board body 2, and other structures are substantially the same as those in fig. 5, which is not described in detail herein.

In some embodiments provided by the present application, the housing 1 includes a first housing portion 110 and a second housing portion 120, the first housing portion 110 and the second housing portion 120 may be enclosed to form an inner cavity 200, the first housing portion 110 includes a transverse wall 14, a longitudinal wall 15, and a bent portion 16, the longitudinal wall 15 is circumferentially disposed around at least a partial area of the second housing portion 120, the longitudinal wall 15 is disposed on an outer peripheral side of the circuit board assembly, the bent portion 16 extends from the longitudinal wall 15 to an axial direction of the sensor 100, the second housing portion 120 presses against the first plate 101 of the circuit board assembly, and the bent portion 16 presses against the second housing portion 120. The sensor 100 further includes a plurality of conductive members 70, the second housing portion 120 is provided with openings 121 that are engaged with the conductive members 70, a portion of the conductive members 70 is accommodated in the openings 121, one end of the conductive member 70 is in contact with the conductive traces on the first surface 21 side of the first plate 101, and the other end of the conductive member 70 is exposed out of the openings 121 so as to transmit signals to the outside.

For the first housing portion 110, in some embodiments, the transverse wall 14, the longitudinal wall 15, and the bent portion 16 are integrated, that is, the first housing portion 110 may be made of metal, so as to facilitate the processing of a flange, and the second housing portion 120 may be a plastic shell, so as to reduce the weight and cost of the sensor 100.

As shown in fig. 15 and 16, the present application also provides a valve assembly comprising a valve body portion 900 and a sensor 100, the sensor 100 may be the sensor of the previous embodiments. The valve body 900 is provided with a cavity 90, the cavity 90 includes an installation cavity 901, the sensor 100 is fixedly connected with the valve body 900 at the installation cavity 901, and at least part of the sensor 100 is accommodated in the installation cavity 901 of the valve body 900. The cavity portion 90 also includes a channel 902 for fluid flow. In the cross-sectional configuration illustrated in fig. 16, the sensor 100 includes a housing 1, a circuit board assembly at least partially received in an internal cavity 200 of the sensor 100, and a temperature sensing element 3 and a pressure sensing element 4.

The temperature sensing element 3 comprises a temperature sensing head 31 and a conductive pin 32 which are connected, and the temperature sensing head 31 is provided with a temperature sensing area 311. The temperature sensing region 311 may be at least partially exposed to the cavity portion 90, e.g., the temperature sensing region 311 may be exposed to the channel 902. So that the temperature sensing region 311 can be in contact with the fluid. The lateral wall 14 of the housing 1 has an inner wall surface 132 close to the inner cavity 200 and an outer wall surface 133 remote from the inner cavity 200. The lateral wall 14 is provided with an accommodating portion 135, and the accommodating portion 135 penetrates the inner wall surface 132 and the outer wall surface 133. The conductive pin 32 of the temperature sensing element 4 is at least partially located in the receiving portion 135. At least a portion of conductive pin 32 is secured to lateral wall 14.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 16, the valve body 900 has a cavity wall 92 forming the cavity 90, and the valve assembly further comprises a sealing element 903 between the transverse wall 14 and the valve body 900, the sealing element 903 being compressible between the valve body 900 and the transverse wall 14. The sealing element 903 may have a certain elasticity. The seal between the transverse wall 14 and the valve body 900 is provided by a sealing element 903 such that the flow passage 203 of the sensor 100 is a fluid-tight passage allowing fluid to flow axially along its flow passage. The outer wall surface 133 of the transverse wall 14 may be entirely free of contact with the chamber wall surface 92 or may be partially free of contact as illustrated in fig. 16.

In other embodiments, the valve assembly may be provided without the sealing element 903, and other sealing means may be used to seal between the valve body 900 and the sensor 100. Accordingly, at least a portion of the outer wall 133 may be in direct contact with the chamber wall 92.

In some embodiments, the valve assembly further includes a compression nut or the like, the compression nut can be engaged with the first housing portion 110, the compression nut is in a ring shape and is disposed on the outer periphery of the longitudinal wall 15, the outer periphery of the compression nut is in threaded connection with the valve body portion 900, and the compression nut is pressed on the upper side of the transverse wall 14 to fix the sensor 100 and the valve body portion 900 together. The valve assembly provided in the embodiments of the present application may further include a fluid control assembly fixed to the valve body 900. The fluid control component can be an electronic expansion valve and is used for controlling the flow of the refrigerant in the automobile air conditioning system to realize the throttling of the refrigerant. The fluid control assembly correspondingly comprises a coil assembly and other structures, and redundant description is not repeated for the fluid control assembly.

The above embodiments are only used for illustrating the present application and not for limiting the technical solutions described in the present application, and the present application should be understood based on the descriptions of directions such as "front", "back", "left", "right", "upper", "lower", etc. for those skilled in the art, and although the present application has been described in detail in the present application with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that those skilled in the art can still make modifications or equivalent substitutions on the present application, and all technical solutions and modifications thereof that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A sensor comprising a housing and a circuit board assembly; at least a portion of the circuit board assembly is located within the housing; the circuit board assembly comprises a board body, a pressure sensing element and an electronic element, wherein the pressure sensing element and the electronic element are fixed with the board body; the sensor has a first cavity, a second cavity, and a flow channel;

the surface of the plate body has a first region facing the first cavity and a second region facing the second cavity; conductive circuits are uniformly distributed in the first area and the second area of the plate body; the conducting circuit distributed in the first area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element; and the conducting circuit distributed in the second area of the plate body is electrically connected with the pressure sensing element and/or the electronic element.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the surface of the plate body further has a third region, the third region facing the flow channel;

the plate body is provided with a guide hole, the guide hole is provided with a first hole opening in a first area of the plate body, and the guide hole is provided with a second hole opening in a third area of the plate body; the guide hole is at least one part of the flow passage; the pressure sensing element is at least partially located in the first cavity, the pressure sensing element being sealingly secured to the plate body at an outer peripheral side of the first aperture.

3. The sensor of claim 2, wherein a surface of the plate body corresponding to the third region is an insulating material; or conductive circuits are distributed on the surface of the third area, the conductive circuits distributed in the third area are electrically isolated from the conductive circuits distributed in the first area, and the conductive circuits distributed in the third area are electrically isolated from the conductive circuits distributed in the second area.

4. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the circuit board assembly includes a plurality of the electronic components distributed over the first and second regions of the board body.

5. The sensor of claim 2, wherein the plate body comprises a first plate body and a second plate body; the second plate body is positioned below the first plate body along the height direction of the sensor; the first plate body and the second plate body are fixed; the lower surface of the second plate body includes the third region.

6. The sensor of claim 5, wherein the first plate is provided with a cutaway portion through its plate, the cutaway portion being part of the first cavity; the pressure sensing element is at least partially accommodated in the notch part; the guide hole is formed in the second plate body; the pressure sensing element is fixed with the second plate body;

the sensor also comprises a fixing piece, and the first plate body is provided with a first accommodating hole; the second plate body is provided with a second accommodating hole; a part of the fixing piece is accommodated in the first accommodating hole, another part of the fixing piece is accommodated in the second accommodating hole, and the fixing piece is fixed with the first plate body at the first accommodating hole; the fixing piece is fixed with the second plate body at the second accommodating hole.

7. The sensor according to claim 6, wherein the first board body and the second board body are both circuit boards, conductive circuits are uniformly distributed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the first board body, and the conductive circuits of the first board body are electrically connected with the fixing member; the upper surface of the second plate body is provided with a conductive circuit, and the conductive circuit of the second plate body is electrically connected with the fixing piece; the lower surface of the second plate body is not provided with conducting circuits, and at least part of the lower surface of the second plate body is made of ceramic;

the first plate body is provided with a first side surface connected to the upper surface and the lower surface of the first plate body; the second plate body is provided with a second side surface connected with the upper surface and the lower surface of the second plate body; the first side surface is closer to an outer peripheral side of the sensor than the second side surface.

8. The sensor of claim 7, wherein the circuit board assembly further comprises a protective cover at least partially located in the notch portion; the protective cover comprises a side wall part and a top wall part which are connected; the side wall portion is located between the top wall portion and the second panel body; the pressure sensing element is positioned between the top wall part and the second plate body; the end of the side wall part far away from the top wall part is fixed with the second plate body;

the pressure sensing element comprises a core body part and a connecting part, and is provided with a sensing cavity; the core body having a pressure sensing region exposed to the sensing cavity; the induction cavity is communicated with the guide hole; one end of the connecting part is connected with the core body part, and the other end of the connecting part is connected with conducting circuits distributed on the upper surface of the second plate body.

9. The sensor of claim 7, wherein the circuit board assembly further comprises a sleeve; the sleeve is provided with a cylinder wall and a cylinder cavity, and the cylinder cavity is a part of the flow passage; the cylinder wall is positioned between the cylinder cavity and the second cavity;

the shell comprises a transverse wall, and the transverse wall and the sleeve are positioned on the side of the lower surface of the second plate body; the transverse wall is provided with a matching hole; the sleeve is at least partially accommodated in the matching hole; one end of the sleeve in the axial direction is connected with the lower surface of the second plate body in a sealing mode; the peripheral side of the cylinder wall and the shell form the hole wall of the matching hole in sealing connection.

10. The sensor of claim 9, further comprising a gasket; the gasket is positioned in the second cavity; the gasket is compressed between the lower surface of the second plate body and the transverse wall.