Sensor

• US 20070056353A1
• Filed: 04/16/2004
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Wilde, Juergen, Pesch, Andreas, Weyl, Helmut
• Granted Patent: US 7,434,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/23.310
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 13/008 Mounting or arrangement of exhaust sensors in or on exhaust apparatus sensor arrangements for engine control F02D41/1439
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2560/02 the means being an exhaust gas sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4077 Means for protecting the electrolyte or the electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4078 Means for sealing the sensor element in a housing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49007 Indicating transducer

Abstract

A sensor for determining a physical property such as the concentration of a gas component or the temperature of a measuring gas, e.g., the exhaust gas of internal combustion engines, has a sensor element which is secured in a housing and is surrounded at an end section on the measuring gas side by a protective tube and surrounded at an end section on the connection side by a protective sleeve, and also has a radially projecting flange for securing the sensor on a sealing seat formed on a measuring gas duct. To reduce manufacturing costs, the flange is molded onto the protective tube as one piece. The protective tube is manufactured as a deep-drawn part, and a trimming edge remaining after deep drawing on the end side is used as a securing flange.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A sensor for determining a physical property of an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, comprising:

a housing;

a sensor element secured in the housing, wherein a first end section of the sensor element on a measuring gas side is enclosed by a protective tube, and wherein a second end section of the sensor element on a connection side is further enclosed by a protective sleeve; and

at least one radially-projecting flange for securing the sensor on a sealing seat formed on a measuring gas duct, wherein the at least one radially-projecting flange is formed as one piece on at least one of the protective sleeve and the protective tube.

15. The sensor as recited in claim 14, wherein the protective sleeve and the protective tube are manufactured as deep-drawn parts, and a trimming edge remaining after deep drawing forms the at least one radially-projecting flange.

16. The sensor as recited in claim 15, wherein a first area of the housing is permanently fixed to the protective sleeve and a second area of the housing is permanently fixed to the protective tube.

17. The sensor as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

a bracing element that engages the radially-projecting flange, wherein the bracing element is configured as one of a hollow screw and a cap screw.

18. The sensor as recited in claim 15, wherein at least one of:

a) a first radially-projecting flange is attached to the protective tube using a hollow screw mounted radially surrounding the housing and the protective sleeve, and wherein an annular end face of the hollow screw rests on the first radially-projecting flange; and

b) a second radially-projecting flange is integrally formed on the protective sleeve, wherein the second radially-projecting flange forms a stop that prevents the hollow screw from being removed from surrounding the housing.

19. The sensor as recited in claim 15, wherein the housing is formed by an additional internal protective tube enclosing the first end section of the sensor element on the measuring gas side, the additional internal protective tube being in turn enclosed by the protective tube and including a single-piece flange at an end facing the protective sleeve, and wherein a first radially-projecting flange on the protective tube, a second radially-projecting flange on the protective sleeve, and the single-piece flange on the additional internal protective tube are engaged to one another and secured on the sealing seat.

20. The sensor as recited in claim 19, wherein the first radially-projecting flange on the protective tube has a single-piece crimping edge that is crimped onto the second radially-projecting flange on the protective sleeve, and the single-piece flange on the additional internal protective tube is secured between the first and second radially-projecting flanges.

21. The sensor as recited in claim 20, wherein the first radially-projecting flange on the protective tube is secured onto the sealing seat by a bracing element resting on the single-piece crimping edge and concentrically surrounding the protective sleeve.

22. The sensor as recited in claim 19, wherein the sensor element is hermetically sealed against an internal wall of the additional internal protective tube by one of a sealing glass, a temperature-resistant cement, and a foamy ceramic compound.

23. The sensor as recited in claim 22, wherein the additional internal protective tube has a first tube section and a second tube section, the diameter of the first tube section being smaller than the diameter of the second tube section, and wherein a first ceramic disk having a central passage hole for the sensor element is placed in the second tube section having the larger diameter, and wherein the first ceramic disk is supported by a shoulder section of the additional internal protective tube formed between the first and second tube sections.

24. The sensor as recited in claim 23, wherein an opening of the additional internal protective tube on the side of the single-piece flange is covered by a second ceramic disk having a central passage hole for the sensor element, and wherein a gap between the first and second ceramic disks is filled with foamed ceramic compound.

25. A method for manufacturing a sensor for determining a physical property of an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, comprising:

securing a sensor element in a housing having a first end section and a second end section such that the sensor element axially projects from the housing;

reverse drawing a protective tube over the first end section;

reverse drawing a protective sleeve over the second end section; and

bonding the protective tube and protective sleeve to the housing;

wherein at least one of the protective tube and the protective sleeve is deep-drawn, and wherein, subsequent to the deep-drawing, at least a portion of a trimming edge remaining on the deep-drawn part is used as a mounting flange for installing the sensor.

26. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the trimming edge is trimmed to a predefined radial dimension.