Pressure-electric transducers

• US 4,085,620 A
• Filed: 09/28/1976
• Issued: 04/25/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruehl, Charles A.
• Application Number:
  US05/727,536
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 73/88.5 SD, 73/398 AR, 338/4, 338/42
• US Class Current: 73/727
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/0038 being part of the housing other details about the housing G01L19/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/14 Housings G01L19/0007, G01L19/0084, G01L19/0092, G01L19/04, G01L19/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/146 using flexible element between the transducer and the support
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/147 Details about the mounting of the sensor to support or covering means
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/148 Details about the circuit board integration, e.g. integrated with the diaphragm surface or encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

The transducer comprises a substrate made of stainless steel having an opening for receiving pressure transmitting fluid, a stress absorbing member having a connecting section with a fluid passage communicated with the opening and secured to the substrate, a neck section having a smaller diameter than the connecting section and integrally connected to the connecting section and a head section having a larger diameter than the neck section and integrally connected to the neck section, a semiconductor pressure sensitive element mounted on the head section with its pressure receiving surface disposed to close the fluid passage, said stress absorbing member having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as the semiconductor pressure sensitive element, and terminals for deriving from the semiconductor pressure sensitive element an electrical signal corresponding to the pressure of said pressure transmitting fluid.

Claims

1. A pressure-electric transducer comprising a substrate having an opening for receiving pressure transmitting fluid;

a stress absorbing member having a connecting section provided with a fluid passage communicated with said opening and secured to said substrate, a neck section connected to the connecting section and having a diameter not larger than that of the connection section and a head section connected to the neck section and having a diameter larger than that of said neck section, said neck and said head sections being integral with said connecting section;

a semiconductor pressure sensitive element mounted on the head section of said stress absorbing member with the pressure receiving surface of said pressure sensitive element disposed to close said fluid passage, said stress absorbing member having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as said semiconductor pressure sensitive element; and

means for deriving from said semiconductor pressure sensitive element an electric signal corresponding to the pressure of said pressure transmitting fluid, a detection casing containing said semiconductor pressure sensitive element, a temperature compensator contained in said detection casing and electrically connected to said pressure sensitive element, an amplifier casing removably connected to said detection casing, and an amplifier contained in said amplifier casing for amplifying said derived electric signal.

2. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 1 wherein said semiconductor pressure sensitive element comprises first and second pressure detection resistors having opposite resistance variation characteristics under pressure and said temperature compensator comprises first and second reference resistors which are connected with said first and second pressure detection resistors to form a bridge circuit.

3. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 2 which further comprises a resistor not affected by temperature variation and connected in series with one of said first and second pressure detection resistors so as to provide a temperature compensation of the zero point of the output from said bridge circuit.

4. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 2 which further comprises a resistor not affected by temperature variation and connected to the common juncture of said first and second pressure detection resistors so as to provide a temperature compensation of the zero point of the output from said bridge circuit.

5. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 2 which further comprises a potentiometer connected across a source for energizing said bridge circuit and producing a fixed potential on an intermediate point thereof;

and a compensation circuit including a resistor connected between said intermediate point and the juncture between said first and second pressure detecting resistors, said resistor varying its resistance value in accordance with the temperature variation so as to compensate for the variation of the output from said bridge output caused by the variation in the sensitivity of said semiconductor pressure senstive element due to temperature variation.

6. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 5 wherein said compensation circuit comprises a temperature sensitive element and at least one variable resistor connected in parallel to said temperature sensitive element.

7. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 5 which further comprises a fixed resistor connected in series with said parallelly connected temperature sensitive element and said variable resistor.

8. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 1 wherein said substrate and said connecting section are connected together by means of a bonding agent, and a recess is provided at one end of the bonding surface to receive surplus bonding agent.

9. A pressure-electric transducer according to claim 1, wherein said detection casing detects the difference between two fluid pressures.