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EP-3878099-B1 - SENSOR COMPONENT, SENSOR AND ELECTRIC HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

EP3878099B1EP 3878099 B1EP3878099 B1EP 3878099B1EP-3878099-B1

Inventors

  • LECERF, Joël

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20191104

Claims (14)

  1. Sensor component (10) for a sensor for detecting a contact or a proximity between a user and a control portion of an electric appliance, said sensor component being arranged to link or connect an electronic board (20) to the control portion, the sensor component (10) comprising: • at least one conductive element (11) arranged to be located between the electronic board (20) and the control portion and comprising an elastic body (11B), arranged to generate a return force between the electronic board (20) and the control portion, and comprising: - at least one electrical connection interface (11A) with the electronic board (20), and - at least one bearing surface arranged to face the electronic board (20), • at least one spacer (12) with at least one part made of electrically insulating material arranged at least partially between: - the at least one bearing surface of the conductive element (11), and - the at least one electrical connection interface (11A) of the conductive element (11) so as to move away from the electronic board (20) the conductive parts of the elastic body (11B) of the conductive element (11) other than the connection interface; wherein the spacer (12) comprises a spacer base (12Em) with a first bearing area on the electronic board (20), and a second bearing area arranged to contact the bearing surface of the conductive element (11); characterised in that the first bearing area on the electronic board (20) is formed by at least two, and preferably three, distinct support feet (12A) on the electronic board (20), said support feet (12A) having a bearing surface of less than 30%, and preferably of less than 20%, of a projected surface of the spacer (12) on the electronic board (20).
  2. Sensor component (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the support feet (12A) are distributed on either side of a centre of the spacer (12).
  3. Sensor component (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spacer (12) comprises a central hole (12T) for guiding light towards the control portion, the central hole (12T) being arranged to face a light source of the electronic board (20).
  4. Sensor component (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein the spacer (12) comprises a flared central recess (12D) opening onto the central hole (12T), in order to form a light guide.
  5. Sensor component(10) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising indexing means for indexing the spacer (12) on the electronic board (20).
  6. Sensor component (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the conductive element (11) comprises at least one connection lug forming the electrical connection interface (11A), and wherein the spacer (12) comprises a guiding area (12G), arranged to receive the connection lug.
  7. Sensor component (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the conductive element (11) is a helical spring.
  8. Sensor for detecting a contact or a proximity between a user and at least one control portion of an electric appliance, comprising: - an electronic board (20) with at least one printed electric circuit, - at least one sensor component (10) according to any one of the preceding claims.
  9. Detection sensor according to the preceding claim, wherein the support feet (12A) are arranged to contact the electronic board (20) between printed circuit tracks.
  10. Detection sensor according to either claim 8 or 9, forming a capacitive sensor, wherein the conductive element (11)forms a detection antenna.
  11. Electric household appliance, comprising at least one control portion and at least one detection sensor according to any one of claims 8 to 10.
  12. Electric household appliance according to the preceding claim, comprising: - a handle to be grasped by a user, - a plurality of control portions, - a plurality of detection sensors according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the plurality of control portions is arranged on, or at the level of, the handle.
  13. Electric household appliance according to either claim 11 or 12, forming a cooking appliance, such as a grilling appliance.
  14. Method of manufacturing a detection sensor according to any one of claims 8 to 10, comprising a step consisting in assembling the conductive element on the spacer to form a sensor component according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and a step consisting in depositing the sensor component on the electronic board, with automated handling means, such as a robot, and/or an automatic manipulator, and/or a vibratory bowl, and/or pneumatic gripping means such as a clamp.

Description

The present invention relates generally to a sensor component, a detection sensor and a household electrical appliance comprising such a sensor equipped with the sensor component. Technical field of the invention In particular, the invention relates to a sensor component for detecting contact or proximity between a user's limb and a control portion (also called a touch surface) of a household electrical appliance. In other words, the invention relates to a sensor component for a touch sensor in a household electrical appliance. State of the art It is known in the prior art for contact or proximity detection sensors, typically comprising an electronic circuit board and a metal spring arranged between the circuit board and a control portion of the device to be touched by the user. The metal spring can have several configurations, including one that allows a light source to be centered on the circuit board with the spring to illuminate the control portion. However, this system with this spring configuration has the drawback of requiring specific routing of the printed circuit board traces to avoid contact and short circuits with the metal spring, and to free up space on the circuit board for the light source. Consequently, the overall size is significant and presents an obstacle to integrating the sensor and the control portion (or touch surface) into small areas. The overall ergonomics can then be affected because only a limited number of control buttons (or touch surfaces) can be implemented within a limited surface area. The document EP 2355117 A1 describes a sensor for detecting contact. Summary According to the present invention, a sensor component, according to claim 1, and a method for manufacturing a sensor, according to claim 14, are provided. Preferred embodiments of the invention are claimed in the dependent claims. Description of the invention One aim of the present invention is to address the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above and in particular, first of all, to provide a sensor component and a detection sensor which allow control portions (touch surfaces) to be implanted in small parts of an electrical device while retaining the possibility of illuminating these control portions with a light source arranged on the electronic board. To this end, a first aspect of the invention relates to a component for a sensor detecting contact or proximity between a user and a control portion of an electrical device, said sensor component being arranged to connect an electronic board to the control portion, the sensor component comprising: at least one conductive element arranged to be located between the electronic board and the control portion and comprising an elastic body, arranged to generate a restoring force between the electronic board and the control portion, and comprising: at least one electrical connection interface with the electronic board, and at least one support surface arranged to be opposite the electronic board, characterized in that the sensor component comprises: at least one spacer with at least a portion made of electrically insulating material arranged at least partially between: at least one bearing surface for the conductive element, and at least one electrical connection interface of the conductive element so as to keep away from the electronic board the conductive parts of the elastic body of the conductive element other than the connection interface. In other words, the conducting element is a spring, and the spacer prevents any contact between the spring's bearing surfaces and the electronic board. The elastic body is typically arranged between the bearing surface of the conductive element and the secondary bearing surface of the conductive element. This arrangement allows the conductive parts of the conductive element 11 other than the connection interface to be moved away from the electronic board so as to allow printed circuit routing on an area of the printed circuit board opposite at least one support surface of the conductive element. The sensor component as implemented above includes an insulating spacer between the circuit board and the conductive element, so that the latter no longer touches the circuit board except via the connection interface, and it is no longer necessary to provide printed circuit board traces located away from the conductive element. The circuit board can then be made compact and small, and allows for the insertion of a light source. The contact surface of the conductive element is located opposite the circuit board, and the conductive element may have a secondary contact surface, which, for example, makes contact with the control portion. Advantageously, the conductive element is arranged to connect the electronic board and the control portion. Preferably, the conductive element is arranged to provide a conductive portion in close proximity to or in contact with the control portion, and electrically connected to the electronic board. Schema