Sensor and control module with improved sensor isolation
First Claim
1. A sensor and control module comprising a housing having air slots in the upper and lower portions, at least one sensing element located in the lower portion of said housing,a control circuit board producing heat mounted in said upper portion and said lower portion of said housing and connected to said sensing element, at least one manually actuable control element located on an exterior surface of said housing and connected to said circuit board, whereby said housing provides a chimney effect as heat of said circuit board causes air to be drawn through said air slots of said lower portion past said sensing element and said circuit board to exit through said air slots in said upper portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensor and control module have a housing with an internally mounted printed circuit board which supports a sensing element located in an outwardly projecting hollow portion formed at the lower part of the housing. The projecting portion is prism-shaped and includes air intake slots at its bottom side to enable external air to reach the element. The upper side of the projecting portion which is adjacent to control elements on the module is sealed. The housing is provided with an internal air passage adjacent to the printed circuit board between the air intake slots and air exit slots at a top side of the housing spaced from the control elements. In one embodiment, the module is a thermostat, and the sensing element is a temperature responsive resistor used to sense air temperature.
43 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A sensor and control module comprising a housing having air slots in the upper and lower portions, at least one sensing element located in the lower portion of said housing,
a control circuit board producing heat mounted in said upper portion and said lower portion of said housing and connected to said sensing element, at least one manually actuable control element located on an exterior surface of said housing and connected to said circuit board, whereby said housing provides a chimney effect as heat of said circuit board causes air to be drawn through said air slots of said lower portion past said sensing element and said circuit board to exit through said air slots in said upper portion.
Specification