Sensor for determining the interior humidity and fogging up tendency and fastening device of the sensor

• US 7,197,927 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2005
• Issued: 04/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sitronic Gesellschaft Fur Elekrotechnische
• Original Assignee: Sitronic Gesellschaft Fur Elektrotechnische Ausrustung mbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Stauss, Gerold, Raab, Christoph
• Primary Examiner(s): LARKIN, DANIEL SEAN
• Application Number:
  US11/050,566
• Publication Number:
  US 20050178200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 73/290.1, 733/350.2, 73/290.5, 374/28, 374/142
• US Class Current: 73/335.02
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 25/66 by investigating dew-point

Abstract

A sensor means is proposed to determine an interior humidity and/or an interior volume delimited by a wall, in particular, of a vehicle passenger compartment 3, and a fogging up tendency of an inner surface of the wall, in particular, of a window 5 of the vehicle passenger compartment 3, with a dew point sensor 10 having a humidity sensor element 1 and a temperature sensor 2, wherein the humidity sensor element 1 and the temperature sensor 2 a thermally coupled, and a surface temperature sensor 4, wherein the dew point sensor 10 is designed to measure the air humidity and the room temperature of the interior volume and the surface temperature sensor 4 is designed to measure the temperature of the inner surface.

Claims

1. Sensor for determining an interior humidity or an interior dew point of an interior volume delimited by a wall, and a fogging up tendency of an inner surface of the wall, said sensor comprising:

a printed board;

a dew point sensor, mounted to the printed board, having a humidity sensor element measuring air humidity of the interior volume;

a temperature sensor, mounted to the printed board, measuring room temperature of the interior volume; and

a surface temperature sensor measuring a temperature of the inner surface, said printed board having an elongated basis shape consisting of a protruding end and a support surface, the surface temperature sensor is mounted to the protruding end and the dew point sensor is disposed on the support surface.

2. Sensor according to claim 1, wherein the surface temperature sensor is a contacting sensor, including an NTC or PTC sensor element.

3. Sensor according to claim 2, further comprising a material having good heat conducting properties disposed between the surface temperature sensor and the wall.

4. Sensor according to claim 2, wherein the surface temperature sensor is thermally decoupled from the dew point sensor.

5. Sensor according to claim 1, further comprising an evaluation unit disposed on the printed board, in particular on the support surface, and is designed to calculate the dew point from the measured signal of the dew point sensor.

6. Sensor according to claim 5, wherein the evaluation unit comprises a Kline, CAN, or LIN bus interface with a vehicle air conditioning control system.

7. Sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a housing having a lid with a humidity permeable diaphragm, and wherein the dew point sensor is disposed within the housing.

8. Sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a sensor holder with a front surface, and wherein the surface temperature sensor is mounted to the front surface such that the surface temperature sensor can be mounted in a thermally conducting manner to the inner surface, through gluing of the front surface to the inner surface.

9. Sensor according to claim 8, wherein the front surface comprises a bonding sheet comprising a removable protective sheet.

10. Fastening device with a sensor arrangement, comprising:

a cover designed as a rear mirror foot, into which an electronic unit of the sensor arrangement is installed;

a tubular projection and a sensor holder which can be pushed onto the projection with a front surface which is adapted to an inner surface of a vehicle window; and

wherein the sensor holder is displaceably disposed on the projection and the front surface is adapted for connection to the vehicle window through displacing the sensor holder when the rear mirror foot is mounted in a vehicle passenger compartment.

11. Fastening device according to claim 10, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises a sensor for determining an interior humidity or an interior dew point of an interior volume of the vehicle passenger compartment, and a fogging up tendency of a window of the vehicle passenger compartment, said sensor comprising:

a dew point sensor having a humidity sensor element, measuring air humidity of the interior volume, a temperature sensor measuring room temperature of the interior volume and;

a surface temperature sensor measuring a temperature of the inner surface,

wherein the surface temperature sensor is mounted to the front surface such that the surface temperature sensor can be mounted in a thermally conducting manner to the inner surface of the vehicle window through gluing the front surface to the inner surface, and the dew point sensor is disposed within the housing.