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EP-4737873-A1 - FORCE SENSING APPARATUS WITH STRESS-CONCENTRATION SECTIONS FOR SENSING FORCES ASSOCIATED WITH A VEHICLE BRAKING SYSTEM

EP4737873A1EP 4737873 A1EP4737873 A1EP 4737873A1EP-4737873-A1

Abstract

Various embodiments described herein relate to providing a force sensing apparatus with stress-concentration sections for sensing forces associated with a vehicle braking system. In this regard, a force sensing apparatus includes a metal elastomer element, a set of sensing elements, and a circuit board element. The metal elastomer element includes a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element. The set of sensing elements are disposed on the set of stress-concentration sections. The circuit board element includes a shape associated with the surface of the metal elastomer element. The set of sensing elements are configured to detect a brake force based on one or more deformations associated with the set of stress-concentration sections formed on the surface of the metal elastomer element. The set of sensing elements are further configured to transform the brake force into one or more electrical signals.

Inventors

  • RAO, Jie
  • GAO, JUN
  • TIAN, Ruyuan
  • LIU, Huan
  • WANG, JIE

Assignees

  • Honeywell International Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20250925

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A force sensing apparatus comprising: a metal elastomer element that comprises a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element; a set of sensing elements disposed on the set of stress-concentration sections; and a circuit board element that comprises a shape associated with the surface of the metal elastomer element, wherein the set of sensing elements is further disposed between the metal elastomer element and the circuit board element, and the set of sensing elements are configured to (i) detect a brake force associated with a vehicle braking system based on one or more deformations associated with the set of stress-concentration sections formed on the surface of the metal elastomer element and (ii) transform the brake force into one or more electrical signals configured for processing via the circuit board element.
  2. The force sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of stress-concentration sections is formed proximate to a through hole of the metal elastomer element.
  3. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the set of stress-concentration sections are associated with a set of slots, and the set of sensing elements is disposed on an area of the surface associated with the set of slots.
  4. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the surface is a first surface of the metal elastomer element, a first stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections is formed at a first depth with respect to a second surface of the metal elastomer element, a second stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections is formed at a second depth with respect to the second surface, and the second depth is different than the first depth.
  5. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the set of sensing elements comprise a set of strain gauges.
  6. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the set of sensing elements form a Wheatstone bridge circuit.
  7. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the set of sensing elements comprise (i) a first set of sensing elements disposed on a first stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections and (ii) a second set of sensing elements disposed on a second stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections.
  8. The force sensing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first set of sensing elements and the second set of sensing elements form a Wheatstone bridge circuit.
  9. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-8, further comprising: a housing unit that comprises a connector element electrically coupled to the circuit board element to receive communication data associated with the one or more electrical signals via the circuit board element.
  10. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the vehicle braking system is an electrical-mechanical braking system.
  11. The force sensing apparatus of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the metal elastomer element comprises stainless steel.
  12. A method comprising: receiving, by a circuit board element, a brake force indication from a set of sensing elements in electronic communication with the circuit board element, wherein the set of sensing elements are disposed between a metal elastomer element and the circuit board element, and the set of sensing elements are configured to detect the brake force indication based on one or more deformations associated with a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element; transforming, by the circuit board element, the brake force indication into one or more communication signals; and initiating, by the circuit board element, transmission of the one or more communication signals via a connector element of a housing unit that is in electronic communication with the circuit board element.
  13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set of stress-concentration sections is formed proximate to a through hole of the metal elastomer element, wherein the set of stress-concentration sections are associated with a set of slots, and the set of sensing elements is disposed on an area of the surface associated with the set of slots.
  14. The method of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the surface is a first surface of the metal elastomer element, a first stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections is formed at a first depth with respect to a second surface of the metal elastomer element, a second stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections is formed at a second depth with respect to the second surface, and the second depth is different than the first depth.
  15. The method one of claims 12-14, wherein the set of sensing elements comprise (i) a first set of sensing elements disposed on a first stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections and (ii) a second set of sensing elements disposed on a second stress-concentration section of the set of stress-concentration sections, and wherein the first set of sensing elements and the second set of sensing elements form a Wheatstone bridge circuit.

Description

BACKGROUND A force sensor may be used to detect forces acting on the force sensor and may be implemented in various applications such as, for example, to detect brake force in a vehicle braking system. However, such force sensors may be susceptible to technical problems, challenges, and/or limitations resulting in inefficiencies and/or inaccuracies related to detected forces. BRIEF SUMMARY Various embodiments described herein relate to methods, apparatuses, and systems for improving sensitivity and performance of an apparatus such as, for example, a force sensing apparatus. In an embodiment, force sensing apparatus includes a metal elastomer element, a set of sensing elements, and a circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the metal elastomer element includes a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are disposed on the set of stress-concentration sections. In one or more embodiments, the circuit board element includes the shape associated with a surface of the metal elastomer element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements is further disposed between the metal elastomer element and the circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are configured to (i) detect a brake force associated with a vehicle braking system based on one or more deformations associated with the set of stress-concentration sections formed on the surface of the metal elastomer element and (ii) transform the brake force into one or more electrical signals configured for processing via the circuit board element. In another embodiment, a method is provided. In one or more embodiments, the method includes receiving, by a circuit board element, a brake force indication from a set of sensing elements in electronic communication with the circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are disposed between a metal elastomer element and the circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are configured to detect the brake force indication based on one or more deformations associated with a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element. In one or more embodiments, the method additionally or alternatively includes transforming, by the circuit board element, the brake force indication into one or more communication signals. In one or more embodiments, the method additionally or alternatively includes initiating, by the circuit board element, transmission of the one or more communication signals via a connector element of a housing unit that is in electronic communication with the circuit board element. In yet another embodiment, a computer program product is provided. In one or more embodiments, the computer program product includes at least one computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied thereon. In one or more embodiments, the program instructions are executable by a processor to cause the processor to receive a brake force indication from a set of sensing elements in electronic communication with a circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are disposed between a metal elastomer element and the circuit board element. In one or more embodiments, the set of sensing elements are configured to detect the brake force indication based on one or more deformations associated with a set of stress-concentration sections formed on a surface of the metal elastomer element. In one or more embodiments, the program instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to transform the brake force indication into one or more communication signals. In one or more embodiments, the program instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to initiate transmission of the one or more communication signals via a connector element of a housing unit that is in electronic communication with the circuit board element. The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplary objectives and/or advantages of the disclosure, and the manner in which the same are accomplished, are further explained in the following detailed description and its accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description of the illustrative embodiments may be read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. It will be appreciated that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale, unless described otherwise. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements, unless described otherwise. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the figures presented herein, in which: FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an example apparatus in accordance