RELATIVE-PRESSURE SENSOR COMPRISING A DRYING CHAMBER

Abstract

A relative-pressure sensor determines the pressure of a medium in relation to an atmospheric pressure. The sensor includes a housing having a measuring element located in the housing, wherein the pressure to be measured acts upon an outer surface of the measuring element. The surface is in contact with the medium. The sensor also includes a reference-pressure supply, which supplies an inner surface of the measuring element with atmospheric pressure in the form of ambient air, and an evaluation unit, which determines the pressure of the medium from a variable determined using the measuring element. A drying chamber takes-up atmospheric humidity from the ambient air that is supplied via the reference-pressure supply. The drying chamber has a drying module comprising a container and a humidity-adsorbing material that is completely surrounded by the container.

Claims

1-11. (canceled)

12. A relative-pressure sensor for determining a pressure of a medium in relation to an atmospheric pressure, the sensor comprising a housing, a measuring element arranged in the housing, wherein the pressure to be measured acts upon an outer surface of the measuring element, said surface being in contact with the medium, a reference-pressure supply, which supplies the atmospheric pressure in the form of ambient air to an inner surface of the measuring element, an evaluation unit, which determines the pressure of the medium from a variable determined using the measuring element, and at least one drying chamber arranged in the housing for taking up atmospheric humidity from the ambient air supplied through the reference-pressure supply, wherein the drying chamber has a drying module comprising a container and a humidity-adsorbent material that is completely surrounded by the container, wherein a bottom surface of the container facing the measuring element is designed to be at least partially humidity-permeable, wherein the container is designed to be humidity-impermeable with the exception of the bottom surface.

13. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the base body of the drying module is an annular chamber which has a feedthrough along a longitudinal axis of the base body, said feedthrough guiding the connecting lines of the electronics and the reference-pressure supply to the measuring element.

14. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the container facing the measuring element is designed as a separate bottom unit, wherein a connection between the bottom unit and the container is designed to be form-fitting and/or humidity-impermeable.

15. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 14, wherein the bottom unit can be plugged into the container.

16. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the drying module is designed in several parts in such a way that the annular chamber with regard to a longitudinal section is divided into at least two individual chambers.

17. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 16, wherein in the case of a two-part drying module, the two chambers are designed to be symmetrical in such a way that the total volume of the annular chamber is evenly distributed over the two chambers.

18. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the container has an enlargement of the outer diameter in an end region facing the measuring element, wherein the housing has a section with an enlargement of the inner diameter which corresponds to the section with the enlargement of the outer diameter of the container, wherein the corresponding sections of the enlargement of the outer diameter of the container and of the enlargement of the inner diameter of the housing engage in a form-fitting manner with one another after introduction of the drying module into the housing.

19. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the humidity-impermeable material of the container is a polymer or a metal-coated polymer.

20. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the humidity-permeable region of the bottom unit is made of PA or Gore.

21. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein a molded body comprising a polymer matrix and zeolite is provided as humidity-adsorbent material.

22. The relative-pressure sensor of claim 1, wherein the cross-section of the outer wall of the drying module facing the housing has a waveform superimposed on the circular basic profile.

Description

[0036] The invention is explained in greater detail with reference to the following FIGS. 1-2b. The following is shown:

[0037] FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of the relative-pressure sensor according to the invention,

[0038] FIG. 2a a possible embodiment of the one-piece drying module, and

[0039] FIG. 2b a possible embodiment of the two-part drying module.

[0040] The present invention is applicable to a variety of relative-pressure sensors which are based on different measuring principles. Relative-pressure sensors are used for determining a pressure p1 of a medium in relation to an atmospheric pressure p2, the sensors comprising a housing, a measuring element arranged in the housing, wherein the pressure p1 to be measured acts upon an outer surface of the measuring element, said surface being in contact with the medium, a reference-pressure supply, which supplies an inner surface of the measuring element with atmospheric pressure p2 in the form of ambient air, an evaluation unit, which determines the pressure p1 of the medium from a variable determined using the measuring element, and at least one drying chamber arranged in the housing for taking up atmospheric humidity from the ambient air supplied through the reference-pressure supply. Corresponding relative-pressure sensors are manufactured and marketed by the applicant, for example, under the names “Cerabar” and “Ceraphant.”

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a relative-pressure sensor 1 comprising the housing 3, the measuring element 4 facing the medium 2, the reference-pressure supply 5 and the evaluation unit 6. The reference-pressure supply 5 conducts the ambient air from the environment of the relative-pressure sensor 1 through an opening 16 in the relative-pressure sensor 1 and along a groove 18 in a bushing 17 into the interior of the relative-pressure sensor 1. The groove 18 serves to limit the speed of diffusion of humidity into the relative-pressure sensor 1 and is designed such that the reference-pressure supply 5 runs exclusively along the groove 18 from the opening 16 into an interior of the bushing 17. However, limiting the humidity diffusion can also be fulfilled by other embodiments, such as a long capillary, which connects the opening 16 to the interior of the relative-pressure sensor 1. The relative-pressure sensor also has the drying chamber 7 in which the drying module 8 is installed. In FIG. 1, the drying module 8 is designed as a two-part annular chamber, wherein the connecting lines of the electronics 12 and the reference-pressure supply 5 run through the annular chamber. Other embodiments of the drying module 8 are therefore not excluded; FIG. 2a shows a further possible embodiment. On the side of the drying module 8 facing the medium 2, the drying module 8 has an enlargement of the outer diameter of the container 13, which engages with an enlargement of the inner diameter of the housing 14 in a form-fitting manner.

[0042] FIGS. 2a, b show the drying module 8 according to the invention, consisting of the container 9, the at least partially humidity-permeable bottom unit 11 and the humidity-adsorbent material 10, which, without limiting generality, is provided as a molded body comprising a polymer matrix and zeolite. The container 9 completely surrounds the humidity-adsorbent material 10 and is designed to be impermeable to humidity with the exception of the bottom unit 11. The bottom unit 11 can be designed as part of the container or as a separate and detachable bottom unit, wherein the connection between the bottom unit 11 and the container 9 is designed to be humidity-impermeable and/or form-fitting. In FIG. 2a, the drying module 8 is designed as a one-piece annular chamber and the bottom unit 11 is plugged into the container 9. This does not exclude other possibilities for connecting the bottom unit 11 to the container 9. The humidity-impermeable material of the container is, for example, a polymer or a metal-coated polymer, whereas the humidity-permeable region of the bottom unit is made of PA or Gore. Other humidity-permeable or humidity-impermeable materials are therefore not ruled out. In the direction of the measuring element 4, the drying module 8 has an enlargement of the outer diameter of the container 13, which is also found in the bottom unit. In FIG. 2b, the drying module 8 is designed as a two-part drying module, consisting of two volume-symmetrical chambers. Of course, the drying module can also be divided into two parts in other ways. The outer wall 15 of the drying module 8 has a wave-like cross-section.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0043] 1 Relative-pressure sensor [0044] 2 Medium [0045] 3 Housing [0046] 4 Measuring element [0047] 5 Reference-pressure supply [0048] 6 Evaluation unit [0049] 7 Drying chamber [0050] 8 Drying module [0051] 9 Container [0052] 10 Humidity-adsorbent material [0053] 11 Bottom surface [0054] 12 Connecting lines of the electronics [0055] 13 Enlargement of the outer diameter of the container [0056] 14 Enlargement of the inner diameter of the housing [0057] 15 Outer wall of the drying module [0058] 16 Opening in the housing [0059] 17 Bushing [0060] 18 Groove