Angle Detection Device

Abstract

An angle detection device, in particular for a fuel filling level detection device includes: a carrier; a cover, which has been connected to the carrier by at least one solder or adhesive connection layer; and a sensor for the contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of a magnet. The sensor has been arranged in an interior space, which has been defined by the carrier and the cover, in particular on the carrier.

Claims

1.-12. (canceled)

13. An angle detection device for a fuel filling level detection device, comprising: a carrier; a cover, connected to the carrier by at least one of a solder connection layer or an adhesive connection layer; and a sensor for contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of a magnet, wherein the sensor is arranged on the carrier in an interior space defined by the carrier and the cover.

14. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 13, wherein an outer edge of the adhesive connection layer is at least 1 mm and at most 15 mm away from an outer edge of the carrier.

15. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: at least one conductor track arranged on the carrier.

16. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 15, wherein a respective conductor track is arranged at least one of entirely in the interior space of the carrier or partially in the interior space of the carrier, and/or an electrical feedthrough configured as a vertical interconnect access, which at least partially extends through the carrier or cover, and/or at least one further conductor track connected to a terminal arranged on a side of the carrier facing toward the cover or facing away from the cover.

17. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 15, further comprising: an evaluation circuit arranged in the interior space on the carrier and programmable by way of the at least one conductor track, the evaluation circuit configured to evaluate the sensor, wherein the evaluation circuit has been formed as a bare chip and/or as an integrated circuit with the sensor, or has been formed separately from the sensor.

18. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 17, further comprising: at least one electrical component, configured as a capacitor arranged in the interior space on the carrier and electrically connected to the sensor and/or the evaluation circuit by the at least one conductor track.

19. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the carrier has: at least one electrically insulating surface area and/or ceramic, glass, plastic and/or epoxy resin material and/or wherein the cover comprises: metal and/or a non-ferromagnetic material and/or a recess in which the sensor has been at least partially received, and/or the interior space has been at least partially filled with gas or an elastic filler or evacuated.

20. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one electrical insulation is arranged between the carrier and the cover and/or wherein at least one fastening layer, on which the adhesive connection layer has been arranged, has been arranged in particular on this electrical insulation or on the carrier.

21. An angle detection arrangement comprising: an angle detection device, comprising: a carrier; a cover, connected to the carrier by at least one of a solder connection layer or an adhesive connection layer; and a sensor for contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of a magnet, wherein the sensor is arranged on the carrier in an interior space defined by the carrier and the cover; a movable magnet, wherein the carrier is arranged between the cover and the magnet or the cover is arranged between the carrier and the magnet and/or the magnet has been mounted rotatably about an axis of rotation (R), which intersects the interior space and/or includes an angle with a vertical axis of the carrier in a direction of its wall thickness which is at most 45°.

22. A fuel filling level detection device for a motor vehicle, comprising: an angle detection device, comprising: a carrier; a cover, connected to the carrier by at least one of a solder connection layer or an adhesive connection layer; and a sensor for contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of a magnet, wherein the sensor is arranged on the carrier in an interior space defined by the carrier and the cover; a magnet; a float coupled to the magnet, wherein an orientation of a magnetic field of the magnet can be contactlessly detected by the sensor; and an angle detection arrangement.

23. A method for detecting an angle by an angle detection device, for a fuel filling level by a fuel filling level detection device including an angle detection device, comprising a carrier, a cover, connected to the carrier by at least one of a solder connection layer or an adhesive connection layer, and a sensor for contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of a magnet, wherein the sensor is arranged on the carrier in an interior space defined by the carrier and the cover, a magnet, a float coupled to the magnet, comprising: detecting an orientation of a magnetic field of the magnet contactlessly by the sensor; processing a corresponding signal, by an evaluation circuit; and/or outputting based on a characteristic curve stored in the angle detection device, by way of at least one conductor track.

24. A method for producing at least one angle detection device, comprising: connecting a cover and a carrier to one another by a connection layer by reflow soldering of at least one solder layer, and/or loading a carrier plate is loaded with multiple sensors and then divided into carriers for a plurality of angle detection devices.

25. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the at least one conductor track is arranged on the carrier in a material-bonding manner.

26. The angle detection device as claimed in claim 16, wherein a respective conductor track is led out of the interior space between the carrier and the cover.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0074] The invention is explained in detail in the following text with reference to the representations in the figures. Further advantageous developments of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims and the description below of preferred embodiments. In this respect, in the partially schematic figures:

[0075] FIG. 1 is a fuel filling level detection device with an angle detection arrangement with an angle detection device;

[0076] FIG. 2 is the angle detection arrangement in a plan view;

[0077] FIG. 3 is the angle detection arrangement in a section along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

[0078] FIG. 4 is an angle detection arrangement corresponding to FIG. 3; and

[0079] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a carrier plate during the production of the angle detection device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0080] FIG. 1 shows a fuel filling level detection device with an angle detection arrangement arranged in a fuel tank 200, with an angle detection device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0081] A float 201 is coupled to a permanent magnet 100 of the detection device in such a way that a change in the filling level leads to a rotation of the magnet 100 about an axis of rotation R, which is perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 1.

[0082] FIG. 2 shows the angle detection arrangement in a plan view, FIG. 3 in a section along the line III-III in FIG. 2.

[0083] The angle detection device of this angle detection arrangement has a carrier 10 and a cover 20.

[0084] On a surface of the carrier 10 (at the top in FIG. 3), two conductor tracks 60, 61 and a ring-like electrical insulation 70, which covers the two conductor tracks 60, 61, have been arranged in a material-bonding manner.

[0085] A metallic fastening layer 71, to which the cover 20 has been connected by a solder connection layer 30, has been arranged in a material-bonding manner on the electrical insulation 70, so that the carrier 10 and the cover 20 define an interior space 50. An outer edge 31 of this solder connection layer 30 is between 1 mm and 15 mm away from an outer edge 11 of the carrier 10.

[0086] A sensor for the contactless detection of an orientation of a magnetic field of the magnet 100 has been arranged within the interior space 50, and in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 has been combined with an evaluation circuit to form an integrated circuit 40, which has been arranged in a material-bonding manner on the carrier 10 and connected by way of bonding wires 80 to the conductor tracks 60, 61, which for their part have been led out of the interior space 50 between the carrier 10 and the cover 20 and by way of which signals from the integrated circuit 40 can be output to lines 300, which are connected in a material-bonding or frictionally engaging manner to the conductor tracks 60, 61 at terminals 301, and by way of which on the other hand, conversely, a characteristic curve of the evaluation circuit of the integrated circuit 40 for evaluating the sensor can be programmed, in particular reprogrammed, in situ.

[0087] In the exemplary aspect of the invention of FIGS. 2 and 3, the carrier 10 has been arranged between the cover 20 and the magnet 100, the axis of rotation R of which intersects the interior space 50 and includes an angle of approximately 0° with a vertical axis of the carrier in the direction of its wall thickness (vertically in FIG. 3).

[0088] To detect the filling level, the orientation of the magnetic field of the magnet 100 is contactlessly detected by the sensor of the integrated circuit 40 and a corresponding signal processed by the evaluation circuit of the integrated circuit 40 on the basis of a characteristic curve stored or programmed in it is output to the lines 300 by way of the conductor tracks 60, 61.

[0089] To produce multiple structurally identical angle detection devices explained above, a carrier plate 400, indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 3, on the surface of which the respective conductor tracks 60, 61 have been arranged, is first loaded with multiple of the integrated circuits 40, before, at the same time as or after which the respective electrical insulations 70 have been or are arranged, and on them the metallic fastening layers 71, these are then in each case connected to a cover 20 by reflow soldering of a solder layer, which forms the respective solder connection layer 30, and then the carrier plate 400 loaded in this way is divided into (carriers 10 for the or of the) individual angle detection device(s).

[0090] FIG. 4 shows, in a representation corresponding to FIG. 3, an angle detection arrangement according to a further embodiment of the present invention, which can be used instead of the angle detection arrangement of FIGS. 2 and 3 in the fuel filling level detection device of FIG. 1.

[0091] Features that are the same or have the same effect are identified by the same reference signs, so that reference is made to the above description and only differences are discussed below.

[0092] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the conductor tracks 60, 61 have not been led out of the interior space 50 between the carrier 10 and the cover 20, but have been connected to vertical interconnect accesses 90, which reach through the carrier 10 and for their part have been connected to conductor tracks 62, which have been arranged on the surface of the carrier 10 facing away from the cover (at the bottom in FIG. 4). The vertical interconnect accesses 90 are sealed with a filler 92.

[0093] In addition, in the exemplary aspect of the invention of FIG. 4 the sensor 41 for the contactless detection of the orientation of the magnetic field of the magnet 100, the evaluation circuit in the form of a bare chip 42 and a capacitor 43 have been formed separately, in each case arranged in a material-bonding manner on the carrier 10 and connected to the conductor tracks 60, 61 by bonding wires 80.

[0094] In addition, in the exemplary aspect of FIG. 4 the cover 20 has been arranged between the carrier 10 and the magnet 100 and connected without electrical insulation 70 to the carrier 10 by the solder connection layer 30.

[0095] For this purpose, the cover 20 has a base body 21 of non-ferromagnetic material, the edge of which has been or is metallized and has been or is connected to the solder connection layer 30 by reflow soldering during the step and repeat panel production explained above. The metallic fastening layer 71 has been arranged on the carrier 10 in a material-bonding manner

[0096] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the carrier plate 400 during the production of the angle detection device(s).

[0097] Although exemplary embodiments have been explained in the above description, it should be noted that numerous modifications are possible.

[0098] In particular, instead of the two conductor tracks shown, three or more conductor tracks can also have been provided.

[0099] Additionally or alternatively, features that have been explained with reference to the exemplary aspect of FIG. 4 can also be implemented in the exemplary aspect of FIGS. 2 and 3 and vice versa, in particular therefore the metallic cover 20, the integrated circuit 40 and/or the carrier-side arrangement of the magnet 100 in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4 and/or the separate arrangement of the sensor 41, evaluation circuit 42 and/or capacitor 43, the non-ferromagnetic base body 21 and/or the cover-side arrangement of the magnet 100 in the exemplary aspects of FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0100] Additionally or alternatively, instead of the solder connection layer 30, an adhesive connection layer can have been or can be provided in each case. In this case, the fastening layer or metallization of the cover edge can be omitted and/or the adhesive connection layer at the same time can form an electrical insulation, in particular in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 with the conductor tracks 60, 61 led out of the interior space between the carrier and the cover.

[0101] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor 40 or 41 can have been or can be partially arranged on the two conductor tracks 60, 61 or one of these two conductor tracks 60, 61, in one embodiment in a material-bonding manner, or in one embodiment partially cover them (in each case).

[0102] Furthermore, it should be noted that the exemplary embodiments are merely examples, which are not intended to limit the scope of protection, the applications and the construction in any way. Rather, the above description gives a person skilled in the art a guideline for the implementation of at least one exemplary embodiment, wherein various changes may be made, especially with regard to the function and arrangement of the component parts described, without departing from the scope of protection resulting from the claims and combinations of features equivalent thereto.

[0103] Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.