Search

US-12625112-B2 - Housing of an ultrasonic sensor

US12625112B2US 12625112 B2US12625112 B2US 12625112B2US-12625112-B2

Abstract

A housing of an ultrasonic sensor includes a plurality of layers of a housing material integrally connected together to form the housing. A first section of the housing has a first plurality of layers of the housing material each with a first thickness. A second section of the housing has a second plurality of layers of the housing material each with a second thickness. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness and an ultrasonic wave transmitted through the housing has a greater transmission efficiency in the first section than in the second section.

Inventors

  • Jessica H. B. Hemond
  • Michael Pedrick
  • Rakshith Badarinath

Assignees

  • TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230718

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A housing of an ultrasonic sensor, comprising: a plurality of layers of a housing material integrally connected together to form the housing, a first section of the housing has a first plurality of layers of the housing material each with a first thickness, a second section of the housing has a second plurality of layers of the housing material each with a second thickness, the second thickness is greater than the first thickness and an ultrasonic wave transmitted through the housing has a greater transmission efficiency in the first section than in the second section.
  2. 2 . The housing of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the first thickness to a wavelength of the ultrasonic wave is greater than or equal to approximately 0.03 and less than or equal to approximately 0.06.
  3. 3 . The housing of claim 2 , wherein a ratio of the second thickness to the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave is greater than approximately 0.15.
  4. 4 . The housing of claim 1 , further comprising a base, a first receiving portion extending from the base, and a second receiving portion extending from the base, each of the base, the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion are formed of the plurality of layers.
  5. 5 . The housing of claim 4 , wherein the housing has a channel defined between the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion.
  6. 6 . The housing of claim 5 , wherein the first section with the first plurality of layers forms at least a part of the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion on opposite sides of the channel.
  7. 7 . The housing of claim 6 , wherein the second section with the second plurality of layers forms at least a part of the base.
  8. 8 . The housing of claim 6 , wherein the second section with the second plurality of layers forms another part of the first receiving portion and/or the second receiving portion.
  9. 9 . The housing of claim 1 , wherein the housing material is a photopolymer resin that is curable by light irradiation.
  10. 10 . The housing of claim 1 , wherein each of the layers of the housing material has a consistent and homogeneous density across the layer.
  11. 11 . The housing of claim 1 , wherein the layers of the housing material are parallel to a propagation direction of the ultrasonic wave.
  12. 12 . An ultrasonic sensor, comprising: a housing including a plurality of layers of a housing material integrally connected together, a first section of the housing has a first plurality of layers of the housing material each with a first thickness, a second section of the housing has a second plurality of layers of the housing material each with a second thickness, the second thickness is greater than the first thickness and an ultrasonic wave transmitted through the housing has a greater transmission efficiency in the first section than in the second section.
  13. 13 . The ultrasonic sensor of claim 12 , further comprising an emitter and a receiver disposed in the housing, the emitter emits the ultrasonic wave into the housing and the receiver receives the ultrasonic wave through the housing.
  14. 14 . The ultrasonic sensor of claim 13 , wherein the receiver outputs an output voltage proportional to the ultrasonic wave received at the receiver, the output voltage is higher for the ultrasonic wave received through the first section than for the ultrasonic wave received through the second section.
  15. 15 . A process for manufacturing a housing of an ultrasonic sensor, comprising: printing the housing with a printer as a plurality of layers of a housing material integrally connected together, the printer prints a first section of the housing with a first plurality of layers of the housing material each having a first thickness, and prints a second section of the housing with a second plurality of layers of the housing material each having a second thickness, the second thickness is greater than the first thickness, the first thickness is selected to have a greater transmission efficiency than the second thickness for transmitting an ultrasonic wave through the housing.
  16. 16 . The process of claim 15 , wherein the printer has a vat containing the housing material in a liquid state, a plate movable with respect to the vat, and a light source curing the housing material from the liquid state to a cured state.
  17. 17 . The process of claim 15 , further comprising selecting an orientation of printing the housing based on the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic wave through the housing.
  18. 18 . The process of claim 15 , wherein the first thickness is selected to maximize the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic wave through the first section of the housing.
  19. 19 . The process of claim 18 , wherein the second thickness is selected to minimize the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic wave through the second section of the housing.
  20. 20 . The process of claim 15 , wherein each of the layers printed by the printer has a consistent and homogeneous density across the layer.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor and, more particularly, to a housing of an ultrasonic sensor. BACKGROUND An ultrasonic sensor includes a housing having an emitter and a receiver disposed in the housing. The emitter is controlled to emit an ultrasonic wave through the housing that is received by the receiver and output as a voltage signal. When external elements, such as a tube having a fluid, are positioned against the housing between the emitter and the receiver, the ultrasonic sensor can be used to detect qualities of the external element by analyzing the voltage signal that depends on the ultrasonic wave received by the receiver. The ultrasonic wave propagates through the housing, and material properties of the housing dictate the efficiency of the ultrasonic wave received at the receiver. Housings of ultrasonic sensors are commonly injection molded in a single piece. Although the injection molding process produces housings that are generally efficiency for propagating ultrasonic waves, injection molding is not an efficient process and is not sufficiently flexible to produce variations or customized housings in small batches. Further, housings in ultrasonic sensors often also generate unwanted ultrasonic wave propagation, which requires additional mitigations such as additional dampening materials to reduce ringing and maintain the accuracy of the sensor. SUMMARY A housing of an ultrasonic sensor includes a plurality of layers of a housing material integrally connected together to form the housing. A first section of the housing has a first plurality of layers of the housing material each with a first thickness. A second section of the housing has a second plurality of layers of the housing material each with a second thickness. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness and an ultrasonic wave transmitted through the housing has a greater transmission efficiency in the first section than in the second section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ultrasonic sensor according to an embodiment; FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the ultrasonic sensor with a fluid conduit transmitting a fluid; FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the ultrasonic sensor with the fluid conduit having a bubble in the fluid; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a printer with a housing of the ultrasonic sensor; and FIG. 4 is a graph of an output voltage of the ultrasonic sensor versus a thickness of a plurality of layers of the housing of the ultrasonic sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In addition, in the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. Throughout the drawings, only one of a plurality of identical elements may be labeled in a figure for clarity of the drawings, but the detailed description of the element herein applies equally to each of the identically appearing elements in the figure. An ultrasonic sensor 10 according to an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, includes a housing 100, an emitter 200 and a receiver 300 disposed in the housing 100, and a controller 400 connected to the emitter 200 and the receiver 300. The housing 100 has a base 140, a first receiving portion 142 extending from the base 140, and a second receiving portion 144 extending from the base 140. The housing 100 has a channel 146 defined between the first receiving portion 142 and the second receiving portion 144. The channel 146 is positioned between the first receiving portion 142 and the second receiving portion 144 along a propagation direction P described in greater detail below. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first receiving portion 142 and the second receiving portion 144 each have an approximately triangular shape with a flat side facing the channel 146. In the embodiment of the housing 100 shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3, the first receiving portion 142 and the second receiving portion 144 each have an approximately rectangular shape with a flat side facing the channel 146. In other embodiments, the first receiving portion 142 and the second receiving portion 144 could be any other shape that extends from the base 140 to