Wheel speed sensor

1 . A wheel speed sensor, comprising:

a sensor housing; and

a sensor body assembly positioned inside the sensor housing, the sensor body assembly comprising:

one or more sensor chips, each of the sensor chips including a chip body and a pair of pins, which are spaced apart in a transverse direction and protrude from the chip body;

one or more pairs of electrical terminals, each pair of the electrical terminals being electrically connected to the pair of pins of one of the one or more sensor chips, each electrical terminal including an elongated body portion extending in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the transverse direction and a first end electrically connected to a corresponding pin of the pair of pins of the one of the one or more sensor chips;

a supporting member overmolded to the first end of each electrical terminal such that the supporting member surrounds a first section of the first end of each electrical terminal, the supporting member defining a groove in which every sensor chip of the one or more sensor chips is mounted, the groove providing support for the electrical connection between the pair of pins of each of the one or more sensor chips and the first end of the electrical terminal, the groove being open to a side of the supporting member;

an end holder overmolded to each electrical terminal so as to surround a second section of the first portion of each electrical terminal and prevent displacement of each electrical terminal relative to each other; and

at least one intermediate holder attached to the body portion of each electrical terminal to prevent displacement of the body portion of each electrical terminal relative to each other,

wherein each corresponding pin includes a first side facing toward a base of the groove and a second opposite side facing an open side of the groove, the first end of each of the electrical terminals is arranged between the first side of the corresponding pin and the base of the groove,

wherein the supporting member further includes lugs protruding from two opposite sides of the support portion in the transverse direction, the lugs extending through the sensor housing and out of the wheel speed sensor, each lug having a lateral outside surface defining a first notch and two opposing longitudinal surfaces, each of which includes a second notch, wherein the sensor housing is molded into each of the second notches.

2 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 1 , wherein:

the end holder and the supporting member are formed integrally or are spaced apart from each other; and/or

the at least one intermediate holder includes only one intermediate holder, or includes a plurality of intermediate holders spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction.

3 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 2 , wherein the end holder and/or the intermediate holder have an oblong or polygonal outer profile in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, respectively, and includes a through hole allowing each of the electrical terminals to extend through.

4 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 3 , wherein the intermediate holder includes two half bodies opposite to each other, and the through hole is jointly defined by the two opposite half bodies.

5 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor housing is over-molded onto the sensor body assembly.

6 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the supporting member includes a chip mounting portion defining the groove, a support portion providing the support, and a middle portion connected between the chip mounting portion and the support portion, the middle portion including a respective pair of passages for the pair of pins of each sensor chip through which the pair of pins passes, and a spacer arranged between the pair of passages that is configured to space the pair of pins apart and hold the pair of pins in place.

7 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 6 , wherein the spacer is configured to hold the pins in place by mounting the pins of the sensor chip in the passage and then being deformed or broken by force and/or heat.

8 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 7 , wherein the spacer includes two arms protruding curvedly or rectilinearly from side walls defining the passage, or is in a form of a monolithic block or arm protruding from the side walls defining the passage.

9 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the lug includes a sealing flange extending outwardly from the lug in a plane perpendicular to the transverse direction.

10 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 6 , wherein each pair of passages is open to the side of the supporting member to which the groove opens.

11 . The wheel speed sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one intermediate holder is overmolded over a section of the body portion of each electrical terminal so as to surround the section of the body portion and prevent displacement of each electrical terminal relative to each other.