KR102660073B1 - Tire monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tire monitoring device.
A tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention includes a housing including a lower housing and an upper housing that form a closed interior space by coupling, a sensor chip located in the interior space and provided with a pressure sensing hole, and driving the sensor chip. A board on which an electrical element is mounted, a power supply unit located at the bottom of the board in the internal space and supplying power to the board, a filler sealing at least the space between the power supply unit and the housing, and the board within the housing. It includes a molding part that covers the electric element located on the top and does not cover at least the upper surface of the sensor chip, and has a depression formed by at least one of the molding part and the sensor chip in an area around the sensor chip.

Description

Tire monitoring device {Tire monitoring device}

The present invention relates to a tire monitoring device, and more specifically, to a tire monitoring device with an improved peripheral structure of a sensor chip that monitors tires.

Checking tire pressure, temperature, rotation speed, etc. is a very important part of vehicle maintenance and safe driving. In particular, tire pressure must be maintained at a preset pressure to ensure that the tire performs as intended by the manufacturer.

Incorrect tire pressure can cause tire failure, such as a blowout, resulting in damage and/or loss of control of the vehicle. Due to the high speeds that tires experience while driving, pressure is checked frequently and regularly. Manually checking tire pressure takes time, so reducing this time is beneficial.

It has been proposed to automate tire pressure measurement by including a sensing device in the wheel's wheel that can wirelessly interrogate to provide a measurement of tire pressure. This can reduce the time required compared to manual reading.

In particular, the pressure sensor that checks tire pressure can be easily affected by the subtle external environment. For example, a pressure sensor may be affected by the structure of the module on which the pressure sensor is mounted, which causes a problem in that the pressure cannot be accurately measured.

KR 10-2018-0164180

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a tire monitoring device. More specifically, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a tire monitoring device with an improved peripheral structure of a sensor chip that monitors tires.

A tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention includes a housing including a lower housing and an upper housing that form a closed internal space by coupling, a sensor chip located in the internal space and provided with a pressure sensing hole, and driving the sensor chip. A board on which an electrical element is mounted, a power supply unit located at the bottom of the board in the internal space and supplying power to the board, a filler sealing at least the space between the power supply unit and the housing, and the board within the housing. It includes a molding part that covers the electrical element located on the top and does not cover at least the top surface of the sensor chip.

The area around the sensor chip may have a depression formed by at least one of the molding part and the sensor chip.

The pressure sensing hole may be located on the upper surface of the sensor chip.

The molding part may form the depression by covering the side wall of the sensor chip and the substrate exposed to the surrounding area of the sensor chip.

A first thickness from the substrate to the upper surface of the molding part in the area covering the electric element may be thicker than a second thickness of the molding part covering the substrate in the area surrounding the sensor chip.

The portion of the molding portion having the second thickness may form the bottom surface of the depression.

A first thickness from the substrate to the upper surface of the molding part in the area covering the electric element may be thicker than a third thickness of the molding part covering the side wall surface of the sensor chip.

The third thickness may be greater than 1/10 and less than 1/3 of the first thickness.

The third thickness may be smaller than the width of the depression.

The third thickness may be greater than 1/10 and less than 1/3 of the width of the depression.

The molding part may not be formed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip and the substrate may be exposed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip.

The depression may be formed by a side wall of the sensor chip, a portion of the substrate exposed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip, and a portion of the molding portion located at an edge of the peripheral area of the sensor chip.

The sensor chip may include at least one of a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a humidity sensor.

It may further include a structure located inside the depression.

The present invention provides a tire monitoring device with a depression formed by at least one of the molding part and the sensor chip in the area around the sensor chip, thereby minimizing the pressure applied to the sensor chip by the molding part, thereby improving the sensing function of the sensor chip. Deterioration can be minimized.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of application of a tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing an exploded perspective view and a combined cross-section of a tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a depression structure formed in an area around a sensor chip in a tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of a depression structure formed in an area around a sensor chip in a tire monitoring device according to an example of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, identical or similar components will be assigned the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. Additionally, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the detailed descriptions will be omitted.

Terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this application, each step described may be performed regardless of the listed order, except when it must be performed in the listed order due to a special causal relationship.

In this application, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exploded perspective view and a combined cross-section of the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention. am.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention is fixed to the wheel 1 of the wheel and may be provided in the inner space of the tire between the tire 2 and the wheel 1. .

The tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention can basically detect the pressure of the inner space of the tire, and may additionally detect the temperature of the inner space of the tire, the rotation speed of the wheel, and the humidity inside the tire. .

To this end, the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention includes a housing 110, a substrate 120, a power supply unit 130, a filler 140, and a molding unit 150, as shown in FIG. 2. It can be provided.

The housing 110 includes an upper housing 110b and a lower housing 110a, and a closed internal space can be formed by combining the upper housing 110b and the lower housing 110a.

The upper housing (110b) and the lower housing (110a) may be formed of a plastic material, the lower housing (110a) has a side wall surface on the bottom, and the upper housing (110b) is an upper opening surface of the lower housing (110a). It may be provided in a form that covers. At this time, the upper housing 110b may be provided with an opening hole for pressure sensing of the sensor chip 121 provided therein.

The substrate 120, the power supply unit 130, the filler 140, and the molding unit 150 may be located in the internal space formed within the housing 110.

The substrate 120 is located in the inner space of the housing 110 and includes a sensor chip 121 with a pressure sensing hole 121H and an electrical element 125 that drives the sensor chip 121 and communicates with the outside. It can be installed.

The substrate 120 may be formed of a printed circuit board (PCB) with an electric circuit printed on its surface. The sensor chip 121 and various electrical elements 125 mounted on the substrate 120 are soldered to the electrode terminals printed on the substrate 120 by soldering the electrodes provided on each of the sensor chip 121 and the electrical elements 125. It can be connected electrically and physically.

The sensor chip 121 may include at least one of a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a humidity sensor. For example, the sensor chip 121 may include a pressure sensor that detects the air pressure in the inner space of the tire, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the inner space of the tire, a humidity sensor that detects humidity, and a rotational acceleration of the tire. At least one of the acceleration sensors may be additionally provided.

This sensor chip 121 may be provided with a pressure sensing hole 121H. The pressure sensing hole 121H allows the pressure sensor provided in the sensor chip 121 to communicate with the inner space of the tire, thereby minimizing the detection error of the pressure sensor provided in the sensor chip 121.

The electrical element 125 may include a processor chip that controls sensing of the sensor chip 121 and a communication chip that transmits various sensing signals output from the sensor chip 121 to the outside through wireless communication.

The power supply unit 130 is located below the substrate 120 in the internal space of the housing 110 and can supply power to the substrate 120. For example, a battery may be used as the power supply unit 130.

The filler 140 may seal at least the space between the power unit 130 and the housing 110. For example, the filler 140 may fill the space between the power unit 130 and the lower housing 110a to seal the power unit 130. In addition, the space spaced apart between a portion of the edge of the substrate 120 and the lower housing 110a may also be filled and sealed with the filler 140.

A potting material capable of absorbing external shock may be used as the filler 140.

The molding part 150 may be positioned within the housing 110 so as to cover the electrical element 125 located on the substrate 120 and not cover at least the upper surface of the sensor chip 121.

Such a molding part 150 has fluidity and viscosity when applied on the substrate 120, but after curing, it may have a hardness greater than that of the filler 140. This molding part 150 covers and seals various electrical elements 125 located on the substrate 120, so that the contact resistance between the electrical elements 125 and the printed electrode terminals of the substrate 120 is reduced due to moisture. This can prevent the contact force from falling or the contact force from deteriorating. For example, the molding part 150 may be made of an epoxy material.

Meanwhile, the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention may be provided with a depression formed by at least one of the molding part 150 and the sensor chip 121 in the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121 described above. .

Accordingly, the present invention can minimize the influence of the molding part 150 on the pressure detection, temperature detection, or humidity detection of the sensor chip 121, thereby improving the sensing accuracy of the sensor chip 121. .

Below, an example in which a depression is formed in the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121 by at least one of the molding part 150 and the sensor chip 121 will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a depression (DP) structure formed in the area around the sensor chip 121 in the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of each component of the tire monitoring device 100 except for the upper housing 110b in FIG. 2 combined, and FIG. 3(b) is a perspective view along line A-A in FIG. 3(a). It shows a cross section.

As shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 3, the molding part 150 covers the side wall of the sensor chip 121 and the substrate 120 exposed to the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121, forming a depression. (DP) can be formed.

Specifically, as shown in (a) and (b) of FIGS. 3, the portion covering the substrate 120 exposed to the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121 in the molding portion 150 is the bottom of the depression portion DP. A surface can be formed, and the portion of the molding part 150 that covers the side wall surface of the sensor chip 121 can form the side surface of the depression DP. Accordingly, a depression portion DP may be formed by the molding portion 150 as shown in (b) of FIG. 3 .

Here, the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121 may mean an area within a predetermined distance range from the sensor chip 121 among the areas of the substrate 120 covered by the molding part 150.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the physical contact force between the substrate 120 and the sensor chip 121 from being reduced or the contact resistance between the substrate 120 and the sensor chip 121 from being reduced due to moisture.

Here, in order to minimize the influence of the molding part 150 on the sensing of the sensor chip 121, the present invention provides a space from the substrate 120 to the upper surface of the molding part 150 in the area covering the electric element 125. The first thickness T1 may be formed to be thicker than the second thickness T2 of the molding part 150 covering the substrate 120 in the area around the sensor chip 121. For example, the second thickness T2 may be larger than 1/10 and smaller than 1/3 of the first thickness T1.

Although not shown in the drawing, a structure may be located inside the depression DP. This structure may exist at the location of the depression (a location surrounding the sensor chip 121) before the molding portion is formed. If the molding portion 150 is formed with the structure first positioned, the molding portion 150 may not be formed in the portion where the structure is located, thereby creating the depression DP described above.

Additionally, the first thickness T1 of the molding part 150 may be thicker than the third thickness T3 of the molding part 150 covering the side wall surface of the sensor chip 121.

Accordingly, by forming the part of the molding part 150 that covers the side wall of the sensor chip 121 to be relatively thin, the pressure applied by the molding part 150 to the side wall of the sensor chip 121 can be minimized. Therefore, the influence on the sensor chip 121 can be minimized, thereby minimizing the error in the sensing value.

For example, the third thickness T3 may be greater than 1/10 and less than 1/3 of the first thickness T1.

Additionally, the third thickness T3 may be smaller than the width W1 of the depression DP forming the bottom surface of the depression DP in the molding part 150 . For example, the third thickness T3 may be larger than 1/10 and smaller than 1/2 of the width W1 of the depression DP.

In this way, the present invention provides a molding part 150 in the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121 so that the molding part 150 covers the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121 and the side wall surface of the sensor chip 121 with a relatively thin thickness. By providing a depression (DP) formed by , it is possible to prevent the contact force or contact resistance between the sensor chip 121 and the substrate 120 from decreasing while minimizing the impact on the sensing function of the sensor chip 121. there is.

In FIG. 3, the case where a depression (DP) is formed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121 by the molding part 150 is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the depression may be formed in other forms ( DP) may be formed. This is explained as follows.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of a depression (DP) structure formed in the area around the sensor chip 121 in the tire monitoring device 100 according to an example of the present invention.

Figure 4 (a) is a perspective view to explain another example of a depression (DP) structure formed in the area around the sensor chip 121 in the tire monitoring device 100, and Figure 4 (b) is a perspective view of the structure of Figure 4. (a) shows a cross section along the B-B line.

In FIG. 4 , descriptions of content that overlaps with the content previously described in FIGS. 1 to 3 are replaced with the previous content, and other parts are mainly explained.

As shown in (a) and (b) of FIGS. 4, the molding portion 150 is not formed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121 and the substrate 120 is exposed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121. You can.

That is, unlike the preceding FIG. 3, the molding part 150 is formed in the area on the substrate 120 where the electrical element 125 is formed, as shown in FIG. 4(b), but in the surrounding area of the sensor chip 121. The molding portion 150 may not be formed on the sidewall surfaces of the substrate 120 and the sensor chip 121 that are exposed.

In this case, as shown in (b) of FIG. 4, the depression DP formed around the sensor chip 121 is the side wall of the sensor chip 121 and the substrate exposed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121. It may be formed by a portion of 120 and a portion of the molding portion 150 located at the edge of the peripheral area of the sensor chip 121.

Accordingly, the present invention is to prevent the molding part 150 from being formed in the area around the sensor chip 121 and the side wall of the sensor chip 121 by using the molding part 150, the substrate 120, and the sensor chip 121. By forming the depression DP, the impact on the sensing function of the sensor chip 121 can be minimized.

The technical features disclosed in each embodiment of the present invention are not limited to the corresponding embodiment, and unless they are incompatible with each other, the technical features disclosed in each embodiment may be combined and applied to other embodiments.

Therefore, in each embodiment, each technical feature is mainly explained, but unless the technical features are incompatible with each other, they can be applied in combination with each other.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and variations will be possible from the perspective of those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined not only by the claims of this specification but also by equivalents to these claims.

110: housing 120: substrate
121: sensor chip 125: electrical element
130: Power unit 140: Filling material
150: Molding part DP: Recessed part

Claims (14)

A housing having a lower housing and an upper housing that are joined to form a closed internal space;
a board located in the internal space on which a sensor chip having a pressure sensing hole and an electrical element that drives the sensor chip are mounted;
a power supply unit located below the substrate in the internal space and supplying power to the substrate;
A filler that seals at least the space between the power source and the housing; and
A molding portion located on an upper part of the substrate within the housing and covering the electrical element located on the substrate, but not covering at least the upper surface of the sensor chip.
Including,
The molding part is located in a peripheral area of the sensor chip and includes a depression that exposes the sensor chip and the substrate located in the peripheral area of the sensor chip, and has a hardness greater than the filler,
The upper surface height of the molding part is the same as the upper surface height of the sensor chip.
Tire monitoring device. delete According to claim 1,
A tire monitoring device in which the pressure sensing hole is located on the upper surface of the sensor chip. According to claim 1,
A tire monitoring device wherein the side wall of the depression is perpendicular to the substrate. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete According to claim 1,
The depression is
A tire monitoring device formed by a side wall of the sensor chip, a portion of the substrate exposed in the peripheral area of the sensor chip, and a portion of the molding portion located at an edge of the peripheral area of the sensor chip. According to claim 1,
The sensor chip is a tire monitoring device including at least one of a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a humidity sensor. delete

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