This application claims priority to Swiss Application No. 923/06 filed Jun. 7, 2006, and International Application Serial No. PCT/CH2007/000278 filed Jun. 4, 2007.
The invention relates to a membrane protection for a sensor with a membrane, which may be screwed into a bore of a mounting part, as well as such a sensor comprising a membrane protection according to the preambles of the independent claims.
Many sensors have a sensitive membrane which are prone to be readily damaged in environments in which they are used. For example, such a damage may be caused by a mechanical contact or by flames in an internal combustion engine. Already the incorporation and/or removal of a sensor can damage the membrane. Front-sealing pressure sensors are even clipped at the membrane at a stopper of a mounting part, which might be a strong mechanical stress for the membrane. Therefore, for the protection of the membranes membrane protections are provided.
A known membrane protection consists of a metallic grating, which may be screwed onto an external thread of a sensor tip.
Another known solution consists of an even grating, which is introduced into an installation bore, before the sensor is incorporated. However, this arrangement has the disadvantage that after the removal of the sensor the membrane protection has to be removed from the bore with great effort.
The object of the present invention is to describe a membrane protection for an initially mentioned sensor with a membrane which does not enlarge the external diameter of the sensor and which may be readily removed from a bore into which the sensor is installed. Another object is to describe a sensor with such a membrane protection.
The object is solved by the characteristics of the independent claims.
The invention relates to the idea that the membrane protection may be attached in the inside of the front region of a sensor by means of a clip system and thus forms an unit together with the sensor. Other preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.
In the following, the invention is illustrated in more detail with respect to the drawings.
In turn,
The membrane protection 3 shown in
In
Advantageously, the membrane protection 3 is manufactured from a material which is refractory, so that it is suitable for the employment of the sensor 1 to be used, e.g. in a combustion chamber. A temperature resistance of up to 500° C. is advantageous. A variety of known metals or alloys meet these requirements.
A surface coating of the membrane protection 3 has the advantage that a sooting e.g. caused by an application in a combustion chamber, is greatly reduced. This applies even more, if the membrane protection 3, as shown in
Mounting and dismounting of the membrane protection 3 according to the present invention can be performed easily and without using a tool in the front region 8 of a sensor 1, without damaging the membrane 2. Said embodiment has an advantageous size, i.e. the diameter of the membrane protection 3 does not exceed the diameter of the front region 8 of sensor 1. Thus, a sensor 1 with such a membrane protection 3 may be inserted into an appropriate bore, wherein when removing sensor 1 the membrane protection 3 is automatically removed with sensor 1.
Preferably, the membrane protection 3 may be attached in the front region 8 of the sensor 1 in a rotary manner. Thus the load on membrane 2 is reduced during the assembly, when sensor 1 is screwed in.
In
In this example of
A further advantage of a surface coating of the membrane protection 3 resides in the improved sliding properties by reduced friction to the elements adjacent to the membrane protection 3, in particular to the membrane 2 and mounting part 10. This enhances the rotatability of membrane protection 3 and prevents it from being jammed when it is inserted in and removed from a mounting part 10.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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923/06 | Jun 2006 | CH | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/CH2007/000278 | 6/4/2007 | WO | 00 | 11/20/2008 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2007/140641 | 12/13/2007 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090260434 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |