JP2016125919A - Method of manufacturing measuring apparatus and measuring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring device of exactly measuring the flow rate of fluid.SOLUTION: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a measuring apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention in which an environment sensor including a substrate and a sensor part arranged on the substrate is fixed to the outer wall of piping. This method includes the steps of: installing a spacer on a region which is located on the substrate but excludes the region where the sensor part is arranged; installing the environment sensor in the piping via the spacer so that a space is formed between the sensor part and the outer wall; and adhering a filler material so as to at least fill the space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a measuring apparatus capable of accurately measuring the flow rate of a fluid and the measuring apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a flow sensor for detecting a change in the flow rate of a fluid to be measured, a liquid flow sensor having a semiconductor module in which at least one temperature sensor and a heat source are incorporated is provided. Is provided on the outer surface of the pipe, and a flow sensor is known in which the temperature sensor and the heat source are in thermal contact with the outer surface of the pipe (Patent Document 1).

Special table 2003-532099 gazette

  However, in the flow sensor of Patent Document 1, the semiconductor module is bonded to the outer wall of the pipe with a liquid adhesive, and it is difficult to control the thickness of the adhesive, resulting in variations in the thickness.

  Here, the thickness of the adhesive greatly affects the sensor sensitivity. In general, as the thickness of the adhesive increases, the sensitivity of the sensor decreases and the flow rate of the fluid may not be measured.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a measuring apparatus that can accurately measure the flow rate of a fluid.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a measurement apparatus manufacturing method according to one aspect of the present invention is a measurement configured by fixing an environmental sensor including a substrate and a sensor unit disposed on the substrate to an outer wall of a pipe. In the manufacturing method of the apparatus, a gap is formed between the step of installing a spacer in a region on the substrate other than the region where the sensor unit is disposed, and the sensor unit and the outer wall. And the step of installing the environmental sensor on the pipe via the spacer and the step of attaching a filler so as to fill at least the gap.

  In order to solve the above problem, a measuring apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a measuring apparatus configured by fixing an environmental sensor including a substrate and a sensor unit disposed on the substrate to an outer wall of a pipe. The environmental sensor is interposed via a spacer installed in an area on the substrate other than the area where the sensor part is arranged so that a gap is formed between the sensor part and the outer wall. A filler is attached to the pipe so as to fill at least the gap.

  According to the present invention, a method for manufacturing a measuring apparatus includes a step of installing a spacer in a region other than a region on a substrate of an environmental sensor where a sensor unit is disposed, and the sensor unit and an outer wall of a pipe. Including a step of installing the environmental sensor in the pipe via the spacer so that a gap is formed between and a step of attaching a filler so as to fill at least the gap. Since the thickness can be controlled to be uniform and the thickness of the filler can be controlled to be thin enough to improve the sensor sensitivity of the environmental sensor, a measuring device capable of accurately measuring the fluid flow rate is provided. can do.

It is a graph which shows the correlation of the sensor output of the environmental sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and flow volume. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the flowmeter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the manufacturing process of the flowmeter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure (a) is the figure which showed the state after the adhesive sheet was installed in the flow sensor. The figure (b) is the figure which showed the state after the flow sensor was installed in piping via the adhesive sheet. FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the flow sensor of FIG. 2, and shows a state after the filler is attached to a gap formed between the sensor portion of the flow sensor and the outer wall of the pipe. FIG. When piping which concerns on embodiment of this invention has a curved outer wall, it is the figure which showed the state after a flow sensor was installed in piping through the adhesive sheet. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the flow sensor which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing seen from the II-II direction of FIG. 5 of the flow sensor which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and technical applications that are not explicitly described below. That is, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications (combining the embodiments) without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily match actual dimensions and ratios. In some cases, the dimensional relationships and ratios may be different between the drawings. In the following description, the upper side of the drawing is referred to as “upper” and the lower side is referred to as “lower”.

(Invention principle)
As described above, when the environmental sensor is bonded to the outer wall of the pipe with a liquid adhesive, it is difficult to control the thickness of the adhesive, and the thickness of the adhesive may vary.

  FIG. 1 is a graph showing the correlation between the sensor output (for example, power consumption) and the flow rate of the environmental sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the characteristic (a) of FIG. The correlation between the sensor output of the environmental sensor and the flow rate when the thickness of the adhesive for fixing is 5 μm is shown, and the characteristic (b) in FIG. 1 shows the liquid for fixing the environmental sensor to the pipe. 5 shows the correlation between the sensor output of the environmental sensor and the flow rate when the thickness of the adhesive is 50 μm. As is clear from comparison between the characteristics (a) and (b), the thickness of the adhesive greatly affects the sensor sensitivity. That is, when the adhesive is thinned, the sensor sensitivity is improved, and when the adhesive is thickened, the sensor sensitivity is lowered.

  If the thickness of the adhesive is simply increased, the sensor sensitivity is deteriorated as described above, and the fluid flow rate may not be measured.

  On the other hand, for example, when the environmental sensor is directly fixed to the pipe, the outer wall of the pipe is in contact with the sensor part of the environmental sensor, and the sensor part may be damaged or damaged, so that the flow rate of the flow rate cannot be measured. There is.

  Therefore, as a result of earnest research, the inventor of the present application has made a spacer in a region other than the region on the substrate of the environmental sensor and the region where the sensor unit is arranged as a method of manufacturing a measuring apparatus that solves the above-described problems. A step of installing the environmental sensor in the pipe via the spacer so that a gap is formed between the sensor unit and the outer wall of the pipe, and a filler so as to fill at least the gap. And a method of manufacturing a measuring device, which includes a step of attaching the As a result, the thickness of the filler can be controlled to be uniform, and the thickness of the filler can be controlled to be thin enough to improve the sensor sensitivity of the environmental sensor. It is possible to provide a measuring device capable of accurately measuring.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in view of the above principle.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a flow meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the flow meter 1 (measuring device) illustratively includes a pipe 11 and a flow sensor 51 (environmental sensor) that measures the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the pipe 11. Yes.

  The flow sensor 51 measures the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the pipe 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the flow sensor 51 includes a backside etching structure that forms, for example, a diaphragm that is formed on the substrate 101 and covers the cavity 102 of the insulating film 103 from below the substrate 101. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the flow sensor 51 is an area on the substrate 101, and a sensor unit is arranged so that a gap is formed between a sensor unit (described later) of the flow sensor 51 and an outer wall of the pipe 11. It is installed in the pipe 11 via a spacer (for example, an adhesive sheet 31) installed in a region other than the region where it is arranged, and a filler 41 is attached so as to fill at least the gap. Here, the sensor unit is, for example, a means including one or more heaters provided for the flow sensor 51 to measure the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the pipe 11 and one or more resistance elements.

  The adhesive sheet 31 is an adhesive sheet-like member, and the thickness thereof is, for example, about 5 μm. Thus, since the adhesive sheet 31 can fix the flow sensor 51 and the pipe 11 with a thickness of about 5 μm (temporarily), the adhesive sheet 31 can be employed in a thinner and uniform thickness than the liquid adhesive.

  As will be described later, the filler 41 is filled so as to fill at least a gap A formed between the sensor portion of the flow sensor 51 and the outer wall of the pipe 11, for example, with an epoxy adhesive or the like. is there.

(Manufacturing process)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the flow meter according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure (a) is the figure which showed the state after the adhesive sheet was installed in the flow sensor. The figure (b) is the figure which showed the state after the flow sensor was installed in piping via the adhesive sheet. FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the flow meter of FIG. 2, and shows a state after the filler is attached to a gap formed between the sensor part of the flow sensor and the outer wall of the pipe. FIG.

The flow meter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is produced through the following steps.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the adhesive sheet 31 is installed in a region other than the region on the substrate 101 where the sensor unit is disposed (step 1).
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the adhesive sheet is formed so that a gap A is formed between the sensor unit disposed on the diaphragm that covers the cavity 102 of the insulating film 103 and the outer wall of the pipe 11. The flow sensor 51 is installed in the pipe 11 through 31 (step 2).
Next, as shown in FIG.3 (c), the filler 41 is adhered so that the said clearance gap A may be filled at least (process 3).

  In step 1, the region on the substrate 101 where the sensor unit is disposed is, for example, a region where one or more heaters and one or more resistance elements are disposed, and is formed in the diaphragm. It is an area that has been.

  Here, in Step 1, the reason why the adhesive sheet 31 is provided only in the region other than the region on the substrate 101 where the sensor unit is disposed is that the adhesive sheet 31 is disposed on the entire surface of the insulating film 103 on the substrate 101. When performing step 2, the adhesive sheet 31 is a sheet-like member having a thickness of about 5 μm as described above, so that pressure is applied to the diaphragm that is very thin and has low pressure resistance, and the diaphragm is broken. This is to prevent it.

  In step 2, when the pipe 11 has a curved outer wall, it is necessary to pay particular attention to the following points.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state after the flow sensor is installed on the pipe via the adhesive sheet when the pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention has a curved outer wall. As shown in FIG. 4, when the flow sensor 51 is installed in the pipe 11 via the adhesive sheet 31, in order to form the gap A between the sensor unit S and the outer wall of the pipe 11, The relationship between the height d1 and the height d2 of the sensor unit S satisfies d1> d2, and the relationship between the distance d3 from the insulating film 103 to the outer wall of the pipe 11 in the sensor unit S and the height d2 of the sensor unit S is Note that d3> d2 must be satisfied.

  Here, when the adhesive strength of the adhesive sheet 31 is low, the step 2 further includes a step of temporarily fixing the flow sensor 51 and the pipe 11 via the adhesive sheet 31, and the step 3 is an adhesive. The method further includes a step of curing the filler 41 and fixing the flow sensor 51 to the pipe 11 (main fixing). As described above, when the adhesive force of the adhesive sheet 31 is low, the flow sensor 51 and the pipe 11 are temporarily fixed using the adhesive sheet 31 and the filler 41 which is an adhesive having a strong adsorbing force is used. 51 and the pipe 11 are permanently fixed.

  Further, when the adhesive strength of the adhesive sheet 31 is high, the flow sensor 51 and the pipe 11 can be permanently fixed via the adhesive sheet 31 in step 2, and if an adhesive is used as the filler 41, the flow The adhesive strength between the sensor 51 and the pipe 11 can be increased.

(effect)
According to this embodiment, the manufacturing method of the measuring apparatus includes a step of installing a spacer in a region other than a region on the substrate of the environmental sensor where the sensor unit is disposed, and the outer wall of the sensor unit and the pipe A step of installing the environmental sensor on the pipe via the spacer so that a gap is formed between the spacer and a step of attaching a filler so as to fill at least the gap. Since the thickness of the filler can be controlled to be uniform and the thickness of the filler can be controlled to be thin enough to improve the sensor sensitivity of the environmental sensor, a measuring device capable of accurately measuring the fluid flow rate is provided. Can be provided.

(Other embodiments)
Each embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed / improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a flow sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a flow sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention as seen from the II-II direction of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the flow sensor 151 is provided on the substrate 111 provided with the cavity 112, the insulating film 113 disposed on the substrate 111 so as to cover the cavity 112, and the insulating film 113. A heater 114, an upstream temperature measuring resistance element 115 provided upstream from the heater 114, a downstream temperature measuring resistance element 116 provided downstream from the heater 114, and an upstream side from the upstream temperature measuring resistance element 115. And an ambient temperature sensor 117.

  Here, the sensor unit is, for example, a means including a heater 114, an upstream temperature measuring resistance element 115, and a downstream temperature measuring resistance element 116.

  A portion of the insulating film 113 covering the cavity 112 constitutes a heat insulating diaphragm. The ambient temperature sensor 117 measures the temperature of the fluid to be measured that flows through the pipe 11. The heater 114 is disposed substantially at the center of the insulating film 113 covering the cavity 112, and heats the fluid to be measured flowing through the pipe 11 so as to be higher than the temperature measured by the ambient temperature sensor 117. The upstream temperature measuring resistance element 115 is used to detect the temperature upstream of the heater 114, and the downstream temperature measuring resistance element 116 is used to detect the temperature downstream of the heater 114. Here, for example, the sensor unit is disposed on the insulating film 113 of the flow sensor 151, and the sensor unit may be configured to protrude upward from the insulating film 113 or may be embedded in the insulating film 113. May be configured.

  Here, when the flow rate of the fluid to be measured in the pipe 11 is zero, the heat applied by the heater 114 diffuses symmetrically in the upstream direction and the downstream direction. Therefore, the temperature of the upstream resistance temperature element 115 and the temperature of the downstream resistance temperature element 116 are equal, and the electrical resistance of the upstream temperature resistance element 115 and the electrical resistance of the downstream resistance temperature element 116 are equal. On the other hand, when the fluid to be measured in the pipe 11 flows from the upstream side to the downstream side, the heat applied by the heater 114 is conveyed in the downstream direction (transport effect). Accordingly, the temperature of the downstream side resistance element 116 becomes higher than the temperature of the upstream side resistance element 115, and the electrical resistance of the upstream side resistance element 115 and the electrical resistance of the downstream side resistance element 116. There will be a difference. This difference in electrical resistance is known to correlate with the speed and flow rate of the fluid to be measured flowing through the pipe 11. For this reason, the speed and flow rate of the fluid to be measured flowing through the pipe 11 are measured (calculated) based on the difference between the electrical resistance of the upstream resistance thermometer element 115 and the electrical resistance of the downstream thermometer resistance element 116. be able to.

In the flow sensor 151, for example, a slit is formed in the diaphragm. If a liquid adhesive is attached, the adhesive may enter the cavity 112, and the cavity 112 is further sealed. Pressure cancellation cannot be performed, and there is a high possibility of affecting sensor characteristics. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the flow sensor 151 is a portion without the slit of the diaphragm, and even when a liquid adhesive is used by adhering and filling the adhesive on the sensor portion, A measuring device capable of accurately measuring the flow rate of a fluid can be provided.
On the other hand, even when a liquid adhesive is applied onto the slit in the diaphragm, depending on the physical properties of the liquid adhesive (for example, viscosity, surface tension, wettability, etc.) and the slit shape, the slit can enter the cavity 112. The liquid adhesive can be prevented from entering. Thus, in this embodiment, even if the flow sensor 151 has a structure in which a slit is formed in the diaphragm and the liquid adhesive is applied on the slit in the diaphragm, the physical properties of the liquid adhesive and / or Alternatively, it is possible to provide a measuring device that can accurately measure the flow rate of the fluid according to the slit shape.

  In each of the above embodiments, the flow meter is used as the measurement device and the flow sensor is used as the environment sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any measurement device may be used as long as the sensor is configured on the outer wall of the pipe. For example, a calorimeter or a thermometer may be used.

  The spacer is not limited to the adhesive sheet 31 and may be any member that can form the gap A as described above. In this case, the thickness of the spacer is adjusted so that the thickness of the filler 41 does not decrease the sensor sensitivity of the flow sensors 51 and 151.

  Here, when the spacer is a member having no adhesive force, the flow sensors 51 and 151 and the pipe 11 cannot be (temporarily) fixed by using the spacer. These are (temporarily) fixed using other members that can be temporarily fixed, and then the flow sensor 51, 151 and the pipe 11 are connected to each other using the filler 41, which is an adhesive having a strong adsorptive power. You may comprise so that it may fix.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flowmeter 11 Piping 31 Adhesive sheet 41 Filler 51,151 Flow sensor 101,111 Board | substrate 102,112 Cavity 103,113 Insulating film 114 Heater 115 Upstream temperature-measurement resistance element 116 Downstream temperature-resistance resistance element 117 Ambient temperature sensor

Claims (3)

In a manufacturing method of a measuring apparatus configured by fixing an environmental sensor including a substrate and a sensor unit disposed on the substrate to an outer wall of a pipe,
A step of installing a spacer in a region other than the region on the substrate where the sensor unit is disposed;
Installing the environmental sensor in the pipe via the spacer so that a gap is formed between the sensor unit and the outer wall;
Attaching a filler so as to at least fill the gap,
Manufacturing method of the measuring device. The spacer is an adhesive sheet,
The filler is an adhesive;
The step of installing the environmental sensor on the pipe further includes a step of temporarily fixing the environmental sensor and the pipe via the adhesive sheet,
The step of attaching the filler further includes the step of curing the attached adhesive and fixing the environmental sensor to the pipe.
The manufacturing method of the measuring apparatus of Claim 1. In a measurement apparatus configured by fixing an environmental sensor including a substrate and a sensor unit disposed on the substrate to an outer wall of a pipe,
The environmental sensor is interposed via a spacer installed in an area on the substrate other than the area where the sensor part is arranged so that a gap is formed between the sensor part and the outer wall. Installed in the pipe,
A filler is attached so as to fill at least the gap,
measuring device.