Sensor Device for a Vehicle, in Particular a Motor Vehicle

Abstract

A sensor device for a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, includes at least one sensor module and at least one connecting line connected to the sensor module for making electrical contact with the sensor module. The connecting line is formed as a conductor film, on which a plurality of different sensor modules are arranged and are housed by respectively one or a common encapsulation encompassing the conductor film, at least in some sections.

Claims

1. A sensor device for a vehicle, comprising: at least one sensor module; and at least one connection line connected to the at least one sensor module and configured to make electrical contact with the sensor module, the at least one connection line configured as a conductor foil, wherein a plurality of different sensor modules of the at least one sensor module are each arranged within and enclosed by one common encapsulation which surrounds the conductor foil at least in sections.

2. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first sensor module of the at least one sensor module includes an acceleration sensor and a second sensor module of the at least one sensor module has a pressure sensor.

3. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common encapsulation includes at least one fastening element configured to fasten the at least one sensor module to a body part of the vehicle.

4. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common encapsulation is configured to be elastically deformable.

5. The sensor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the at least one sensor module includes a carrier; and at least one of the acceleration sensor and the pressure sensor is arranged on the carrier.

6. The sensor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the first sensor module and the second sensor module include a common carrier; and the acceleration sensor and the pressure sensor are arranged on the common carrier.

7. The sensor device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the carrier is flexible.

8. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the conductor foil is strip-like; the conductor foil includes at least one elastically deformable and/or plastically deformable carrier foil; and the conductor foil includes a two-wire line which is elastically deformable and/or plastically deformable together with the carrier foil.

9. A body component for a vehicle, comprising: a body part; and at least one sensor device fastened to the body part, the at least one sensor device including: at least one sensor module; and at least one connection line connected to the at least one sensor module and configured to make electrical contact with the sensor module, the at least one connection line configured as a conductor foil, wherein a plurality of different sensor modules of the at least one sensor module are each arranged within and enclosed by one common encapsulation which surrounds the conductor foil at least in sections.

10. A method for producing a sensor device having at least one sensor module and at least one connection line configured as a conductor foil, the method comprising: connecting the conductor foil to the at least one sensor module such that the conductor foil makes electrical contact with the at least one sensor module; arranging a plurality of different sensor modules of the at least one sensor module on the conductor foil; enclosing the plurality of different sensor modules by one common encapsulation; and surrounding the conductor foil at least in sections with the common encapsulation.

11. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a motor vehicle.

Description

[0018] Further advantages and preferred features and combinations of features can be found, in particular, in the above description and also in the claims.

[0019] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a simplified sectional illustration of a sensor device,

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a simplified plan view of a sensor module of the sensor device, and

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a simplified illustration of a body component of a motor vehicle.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a simplified longitudinal sectional illustration of a sensor device 1 which has a sensor module 2 and a conductor foil 3. The conductor foil 3 is of strip- or tape-like design and is formed, in particular, from at least one carrier foil 3_1 on which two electrically conductive conductor tracks 3_2 are arranged. The conductor foil 3 is manufactured, in particular, in a known manner.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a simplified plan view of the sensor module 2. The sensor module 2 has a carrier 4 which is manufactured from an electrically non-conductive and elastically deformable material. A plurality of conductor tracks 5 which run in a star-shaped manner from the outside to the inside, or the other way around, are arranged on the carrier 4. A plurality of electrically conductive contact points 6 are arranged at the outer edges of the carrier 4, wherein only some conductor tracks 5 and contact points 6 are provided with reference symbols here for reasons of clarity. The contact points 6 are connected to in each case one end of one of the conductor tracks 5, for example are integrally formed with them. The conductor tracks 5 lead from the contact points 6 into the middle of the carrier 4 where an acceleration sensor 7 and/or a pressure sensor 7′ are/is arranged and are/is electrically contacted by the free ends of the conductor tracks 5. For the purpose of making contact with the respective sensor, corresponding contact points are provided at the other ends of the conductor track 5, said contact points not being shown in FIG. 2. The carrier 4 therefore forms a so-called interposer together with the conductor tracks 5 and the respective contact points 6, said interposer separating the electrical contacts of the acceleration sensor 7 or pressure sensor 7′ amongst the contact points 6 which, in comparison to the contact points of the acceleration sensor 7/pressure sensor 7′, are arranged further apart and therefore can be contacted more easily. In the present case, the contact points 6 are electrically connected to the conductor tracks 3_2 of the conductor foil 3.

[0025] The carrier 4 is placed on the conductor foil 3 in such a way that the contact points 6 are in physical contact with the corresponding conductor tracks 3_2 of the conductor foil 3, in order to establish an electrical connection. The contact points 6 are optionally welded or soldered to the respective conductor tracks 3_2 in order to ensure permanent electrical contact.

[0026] The sensor module 2 which rests on the conductor foil 3 is enclosed by an encapsulation 8 which also surrounds the conductor foil 3 in sections. In this way, firstly the sensor module 2 itself is enclosed and protected against external influences by the encapsulation 8 and secondly the sensor module 2 is fastened to the conductor foil 3 in a simple manner by said encapsulation. In this respect, the sensor module 2 and the conductor foil 3 former an advantageous unit which allows simple arrangement and fastening of the sensor device 1 to a body part.

[0027] According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, two sensor modules 2_1 and 2_2 of the kind described with respect to the sensor module 2 are arranged on the conductor foil 3 and connected to the conductor foil 3 by a respective encapsulation 8. The sensor device 1 is connected, in particular, to a controller, not illustrated here, by the conductor foil 3, said controller actuating a safety device of a vehicle, such as an airbag device or a belt tensioner for example, the sensor data detected or provided by the sensor 7/7′.

[0028] The sensor device 1 comprises two sensor modules 2_1 and 2_2 of this kind, wherein in the present case one sensor module 2_1 has the acceleration sensor 7 and the other sensor module 2_2 has the pressure sensor 7′. The sensor modules 2_1 and 2_2 therefore each have their own carrier 4 with corresponding conductor tracks 5 for making contact with the respective sensor and are connected to the conductor foil 3 as described above.

[0029] As an alternative, provision is made, according to a further exemplary embodiment which is shown by dashed lines in FIG. 2, for the acceleration sensor 7 and the pressure sensor 7′ to be arranged on a common carrier 4. In this case, a single encapsulation 8 for enclosing and locking the sensor modules 2_1 and 2_2 on the conductor foil 3 suffices.

[0030] For the purpose of arrangement in the vehicle, the sensor device 1 can be fastened to a body part in a simple manner. To this end, FIG. 3 shows, in one exemplary embodiment, a sectional illustration of a body part 9 of a motor vehicle, wherein the body part 9 represents a bumper of the motor vehicle. The body part 9 is of curved design at least in sections, wherein the sensor device 1 is arranged on the inner side of said body part, which inner side has, in the present exemplary embodiment, the two sensor modules 2_1, 2_2 which are arranged on the conductor foil 3 as described above. Since the sensor modules 2_1, 2_2 are respectively enclosed together with the conductor foil 3 by the encapsulation 8, the distance of said sensor modules from one another on the conductor foil 3 is prespecified, as a result of which mounting of the sensor device 1 comprising a plurality of sensor modules 2 on the body part 9 is simplified. Owing to the flexible configuration of the conductor foil 3, it can be guided along the inner side 10 of the curved body part 9 in a simple manner, so that it is arranged/can be arranged on the body part 9 in an installation space-saving and optimum manner.

[0031] According to a further exemplary embodiment which is likewise shown in FIG. 3, the sensor device 1 is designed in a manner integrated into the body part 9. In this case, the body part 9 is, in particular, a panel element, such as a door element or a panel element of the B pillar for example. To this end, the body part 9 itself forms part of the encapsulation 8 of the sensor module 2_2 which is shown, by way of example, in FIG. 3. Therefore, the body part 9 can also be shaped together with the encapsulation 8, as a result of which a particularly compact and easy-to-handle unit is produced. It is also conceivable for the respective sensor module 2_2 to be subsequently surrounded by an additional encapsulation 8 of the body part 9 and held on said body part in this way. The two sensor modules 2_1, 2_2 are preferably fastened to the body part 9 according to the further exemplary embodiment.

[0032] It goes without saying that more than two sensor modules 2 can also be arranged on the conductor foil 3. Therefore, the body part 9, together with the sensor device 1, forms an advantageous body component which is already provided with a pressure sensor system and/or acceleration sensor system for actuating safety devices of the motor vehicle.

[0033] A connection plug 14, which is likewise produced by an encapsulation of the conductor foil 3, is arranged at one free end of the conductor foil 3. The connection plug 14 provides the connection to the controller, already mentioned above, in particular airbag controller, of the vehicle. By way off the plug 14, the sensor device 1 can be connected, in particular, to a peripheral sensor interface 5 which constitutes a digital interface according to the PSI5 protocol for sensors. In this case, the sensor interface 5 is based on the two-wire line and is already used in automotive electronics for connecting external sensors to electronic controllers. In this case, the interface supports point-to-point and BUS configurations with asynchronous and synchronous communication. In the present case, provision is made for the sensor device to be operated by a parallel BUS configuration, so that the two acceleration sensors 7 can be operated in parallel with one another. As a result, two items of measurement data are obtained at the same time and can be checked for plausibility with respect to one another.

[0034] Owing to the flexibility of the sensor device 1, the sensor modules 2_1 and 2_2 can, as illustrated in FIG. 3, be arranged one above the other or, if required, also next to one another on the body part 9

[0035] The integration of the sensor device 1 into the body part 9 provides the advantage of concealed installation which prevents intervention by the end user in the electronic system. The system security is increased as a result. On account of the low thickness of the sensor device 1, the mechanical structural strength of the body part 9 is not influenced or hardly influenced by the integration of the sensor device 1 into the body part 9. The sensor function of the sensor device 1 as an integral stand part of the body part 9 can be combined with further functions which are directly integrated in the end component, such as an integrated electrical energy store, heating wires or induction coils for example, as a result of which multifunctionality of the body component is implemented with conductive construction.

[0036] In particular, owing to the integrated design of the sensor device 1, high-precision positioning and orientation of the sensor on the conductor foil or on the body part 9 is achieved, as a result of which the number of steps for production and subsequent testing of the functional capability can be reduced.

[0037] The production of the sensor device 1 using foil-based back-molding technology or encapsulation technology or alternatively by foil-based integration into the body part 9 is cost-effective and not very time-consuming. For the purpose of mounting the sensor device 1, provision can also be made for the encapsulation 8 to have in each case one or more fastening means 11 which bear against the body part 9 for the purpose of fastening the respective sensor module 2. Therefore, provision is made, according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated using dashed lines in FIG. 1, for the fastening means 11 to be designed as plug-in projections 12 which can be plugged into corresponding plug-in receptacles 13 of the body part 9. The plug-in projections 12 and plug-in receptacles 13 are expediently designed to form an interference fit in each case, so that the respective sensor module 2 can be easily mounted, or at least premounted, on the body part 9. It is also conceivable to design the fastening means as latching means in order to allow the respective sensor module 2 to be latched to the body part in an interlocking manner.

[0038] In addition, the production costs can be further reduced here by virtue of a 2R2 production line being used, or open semiconductors being mounted directly, with the aim of reducing foil surface area. The production costs are also reduced as a result of the simple mounting of the sensor device 1 on the vehicle or on the body part 9, for example by direct integration of the sensor device 1 into the body part 9 as a fiber-reinforced plastic structure in the case of a molding process, in particular in the case of an LCM process (LCM=liquid composite molding).

[0039] Owing to the technique used, the sensors 7 and 7′ of the sensor modules 2 are directly integrated into or arranged on the body part 9, in particular into a bumper, in a simple manner. It goes without saying that the body part 9 may also be a door panel or, for example, an A, B, C or D pillar of the motor vehicle. It is also conceivable to arrange the sensor device 1 in a vehicle seat. Simple electrical connections of the components of the sensor device 1 can be realized by virtue of using direct plug-in techniques. Furthermore, owing to the advantageous housing of the sensor modules 2, a customer-specific plug-in connector can be directly attached to the conductor foil 3. Owing to the flexible configuration of the sensor device 1, subsequent deformation of the sensor device 1, as already shown using the example of FIG. 3, is also possible. Complex structures and geometries, to the extent of stacking a plurality of sensor modules one on the other, can be produced using a suitable falling technique. If the conductor foil 3 has more than two layers of carrier foil and conductor tracks, it is also possible to realize complex electrical circuits by means of a multilayer structure. The carrier material of the conductor foil 3 and optionally also the carrier of the respective sensor module 2 are preferably manufactured from an elastically and plastically deformable material, so that the carrier foil 3 and, if necessary, the carrier 4 can be extended or stretched and deformed in all directions. In particular, owing to the deformability of the carrier 4, it is possible to design the sensor module 2 itself in an adapted manner as an insert part, so that it fits into or can be placed on a three-dimensionally shaped body part with dimensional accuracy.