IP Library Granted Patent US 10,481,026
Granted Patent B2
US 10,481,026 · App. 15/665,584 · Granted Nov 19, 2019

Piezoresistive pressure sensor provided with a calibration resistor of the offset

Inventors: Roberto May (Milan, IT); Erminio Maria Bersani (Arese, IT); Paolo Pietro Suvighi (Casorate Primo, IT)
Assignee: Kolektor Microtel S.P.A.
G01L9/0055G01L27/002G01L27/005
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,481,026
App. No.
15/665,584
Granted
Nov 19, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) comprises a rigid flat support ( 2 ), a flat flexible membrane ( 3 ) having a flat external face ( 4 ) exposed to a pressure of a fluid and a flat internal face ( 5 ) delimiting in cooperation with a flat internal face ( 7 ) of the support ( 2 ) a chamber ( 9 ) accommodating the deformation of the membrane ( 3 ), an electrical measuring circuit comprising a resistive Wheatstone bridge ( 10 ) applied on the flat internal face ( 5 ) of the membrane ( 3 ) for detecting the deformation of the membrane ( 3 ), and at least an electrical resistor (Rc) for calibrating the value of the output signal when the fluid is at a reference pressure, the calibration resistor (Rc) being applied on the flat internal face ( 5 ) of the membrane ( 3 ).

Claims (17)

1. A piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) comprising:

a rigid flat support ( 2 ) having a flat internal support face ( 7 ),

a flat flexible membrane ( 3 ) having a flat external membrane face ( 4 ) exposed to a pressure of a fluid and a flat internal membrane face ( 5 ) delimiting, in cooperation with the flat internal support face ( 7 ), a chamber ( 9 ) accommodating a deformation of said flat flexible membrane ( 3 ),

an electrical measuring circuit comprising a resistive Wheatstone bridge ( 10 ) applied on the flat internal membrane face ( 5 ) for detecting the deformation of said flat flexible membrane ( 3 ), and

an electrical calibration resistor (Rc) for compensating an output signal value when said fluid is at a reference pressure,

wherein:

the calibration resistor (Rc) is applied on said flat internal membrane face ( 5 );

the electrical measuring circuit comprises a bypass ( 19 ) of the calibration resistor (Rc);

the calibration resistor (Rc) is formed by a series of compartments ( 20 ) selectively excludable due to discrete variation of a calibration resistive value supplied;

for calibration, the bypass ( 10 ) is configured to include one or more laser cuts to exclude one or more compartments ( 20 ) of said calibration resistor (Rc); and

the one or more laser cuts of the bypass ( 10 ) occur at points between electrically conductive compartmentalization tracks ( 21 ), to exclude the one or more compartments ( 20 ), where a number of cuts are configured to vary, from sensor ( 1 ) to sensor ( 1 ), to individually quantify a value of a resistance added in series to each of both branches of the resistive Wheatstone bridge ( 10 ).

2. The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the support ( 2 ) has a first pair of through-holes ( 11 , 12 ) passing through a wall thickness thereof, clad in electrically conductive material ( 13 , 14 ) and electrically connected to two supply terminals (V + , V − ) of said resistive bridge ( 10 ), a second pair of through-holes ( 15 , 16 ) coated with electrically-conductive material ( 17 , 18 ) and electrically connected to two measuring terminals (0 + , 0 − ) of an output signal of said resistive bridge ( 10 ) and on a flat external face ( 6 ) thereof a conditioning electronic device of said output signal electrically connected via a second pair of holes ( 15 , 16 ) to said measuring circuit.

3. The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) according to claim 2 , wherein the calibration resistor (Rc) is positioned in series or in parallel with said supply terminals (V + , V − ) and with said measuring terminals (0 + , 0 − ).

4. The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical measuring circuit and said calibration resistor (Rc) are coated by a dielectric passivation layer.

5. The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical measuring circuit and said calibration resistor (Rc) are screen-printed onto said flat internal membrane face ( 5 ).

6. The piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein, for sharing said calibration resistor (Rc), the electrically conductive compartmentalization tracks ( 21 ) are provided, where the tracks ( 21 ) transversally intersect said calibration resistor (Rc) at a progressively growing distance from an end thereof and project transversally beyond said calibration resistor (Rc) up to intersecting said bypass ( 19 ).

7. A calibrating method of the piezoresistive pressure sensor ( 1 ), according to claim 1 , wherein calibration is carried out prior to a mechanical coupling between said support ( 2 ) and said membrane ( 3 ).

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 13, 2023
From: KOLEKTOR MICROTEL S.P.A.
To: KOLEKTOR MICROTEL S.R.L.
Reel/Frame 064243/0104 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 26, 2018
From: MICROTEL TECNOLOGIE ELETTRONICHE S.P.A.
To: KOLEKTOR MICROTEL S.P.A.
Reel/Frame 045642/0853 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 17, 2018
From: MAY, ROBERTO; BERSANI, ERMINIO MARIA; SUVGHI, PAOLO PIETRO
To: MICROTEL TECNOLOGIE ELETTRONICHE S.P.A.
Reel/Frame 044641/0481 →
Priority Claims (1)
IT 102016000081649 · Aug 3, 2016 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20180038753A1 · Feb 8, 2018
Cited By (1)
US 12,467,802