Sensor apparatus for detecting the temperature on a flat component, particularly on a motor vehicle window

Abstract

In a sensor apparatus for detecting the temperature on a flat component, particularly on a window of a motor vehicle, having at least one sensor housing, having at least one circuit carrier, at least a section of which is arranged inside the sensor housing, and having at least one temperature sensor arranged on the circuit carrier, it is provided as essential to the invention that the circuit carrier includes at least one section embodied as a contact finger, that the temperature sensor is arrange on the contact finger, that the contact finger has a contact region for thermal coupling with the flat component, that the contact region is connected in thermally conductive manner to the temperature sensor, that the sensor housing has at least one deflection element impinging on the contact finger with a bias.

Claims

1. Sensor apparatus for detecting the temperature on a flat component, particularly on a window of a vehicle, having at least one sensor housing, having at least one circuit carrier, at least a section of which is arranged inside the sensor housing, and having at least one temperature sensor arranged on the circuit carrier, wherein the circuit carrier has at least one section embodied as a contact finger, the temperature sensor is arranged on the contact finger, the contact finger includes a contact region for thermal coupling with the flat component, the contact region is connected in thermally conductive manner to the temperature sensor, and the sensor housing includes at least one deflection element impinging on the contact finger with a pretensioning.

2. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit carrier is constructed as a single part, that the circuit carrier has at least one cutout, and that due to the cutout the circuit carrier is divided into a main section and the contact finger.

3. Sensor apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the contact finger is elastically flexible with respect to the main section as a result of the cutout.

4. Sensor apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cutout is substantially elongated, and that at least a part of the cutout is aligned substantially parallel to a side of the circuit carrier.

5. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein in the pretensioned state the contact finger is pivoted out of the plane spanned by the main section of the circuit carrier.

6. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor housing has at least one cutout on the sensor housing wall provided for arrangement on the flat component, and that in the pretensioned state at least a portion of the contact finger protrudes through the cutout.

7. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor housing consists of at least two housing parts, and that the cutout and the deflection element are arranged on different housing parts.

8. Sensor apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the two sensor housing parts are connected to one another via at least one latch connection, and that when the latch connection is established between the sensor housing parts the contact finger is pivoted by the deflection element out of the plane that is spanned by the circuit carrier in the unloaded state.

9. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit carrier is a printed circuit board.

10. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact region is arranged on the free end of the contact finger.

11. Sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact region is formed by a metal surface of the circuit carrier

12. Vehicle with a sensor apparatus for detecting the temperature on a window, particularly on the windscreen, according to claim 1, wherein a wall of the sensor housing is arranged substantially parallel to the window that is to be monitored, wherein the contact region of the contact finger has a thermally conductive contact with the window.

13. Vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the sensor housing is connected to the window via at least one connection means, and that the contact region of the contact finger is pressed against the window due to the connection between the window and the sensor housing.

14. Vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the main section of the circuit carriers is arranged substantially parallel to the window, and that the contact finger extends at an angle to the plane spanned by the main section.

Description

[0021] In the following text, the invention will be explained in greater detail with reference to an embodiment illustrated in the drawing. Individually, the schematic illustrations show:

[0022] FIG. 1: a partial cutaway view of a sensor apparatus with a sensor housing on a window; and

[0023] FIG. 2: a circuit carrier in the unloaded state.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a partial cutaway view of a sensor apparatus 1 with a sensor housing 2 and a circuit carrier 3. The sensor housing 2 is arranged on a window 4. The circuit carrier 3 has a main section 5 and a contact finger 6. In particular, the main section 5 and the contact finger 6 are made from a single-part circuit carrier 3. A temperature sensor 7 is arranged on the contact finger 6 for detecting the temperature on the inside of window 4. To this end, the temperature sensor 7 is connected to a coupling region 8 of the contact finger 6 in thermally conductive manner. The contact region 8 may be formed for example by a metal surface, for example conductive layer of the for example multilayer circuit carrier 3. The contact region 8 is pressed against the window 4 for the purpose of thermal coupling. To this end, the contact finger 6 is pivoted out of the notional plane spanned by the main section 5 by means of a deflection element 9. The deflection element 9 thus imparts a mechanical pretension to the contact finger 6, by which the contact region 8 may be pressed against the window when the sensor housing 2 is brought into contact with the window 4. The sensor housing 2 is constructed in two parts, wherein the sensor housing 2 includes a cover part 10 and a base part 11. The cover part 10 and the base part 11 are connected to one another via at least one detent connection 12, so a latch connection. In order to create the detent connection, the cover part 10 has a detent plate 13, the base part 11 has a corresponding detent lug 14. The deflection element is embodied as a protrusion and is aligned substantially perpendicularly to the base area 15 of the cover part 10. The deflection element 9 is dimensioned such that when a detent connection 12 is fully in place, that is to say when the detent lug 14 is fully engaged in the detent plate 13, the deflection element 9 presses on the contact finger 6 of the circuit carrier 3 and pivots it out of the notional plane spanned by the main section 5. The base area 16 of the base part 11 has a cutout 17, and the contact finger 6 may be pivoted to protrude through said cutout. The contact region 8 of the contact finger 6 thus protrudes from the sensor housing 2, so that the contact region 8 can be brought into thermal contact with the window 4.

[0025] In FIG. 2, the circuit carrier 3 with the main section 5 and the contact finger 6 is illustrated on its own in perspective view. The main section 5 and the contact finger 6 are formed by a cutout 18 created in the circuit carrier 3. Consequently, the main section 5 has a substantially larger surface area than the contact finger 6. The contact finger 6 is connected to the main section 5 via a web-like connection 19. Due to the relatively low material thickness of the web-like connection 19, the contact finger 6 has a certain flexibility with respect to the main section 5. In the unloaded state, the main section 5 and the contact finger 6 are aligned in one notional plane. In the deflected state, that is to say in a state in which the deflection element acts on it, the contact finger 6 is pivoted out of the notional plane spanned by the main section 5 to produce a mechanical bias.

[0026] All of the features described in the preceding description and in the claims may be combined in any permutation with the features of the independent claim. The disclosure of the invention is thus not limited to the feature combinations described and/or claimed, but rather all meaningful feature combinations within the scope of the invention are to be considered disclosed.