VEHICLE MECHANICAL OVERLOAD SENSOR Russian patent published in 1995 - IPC

FIELD: means to provide safety of car driver and passengers. SUBSTANCE: sensor has housing 1, inertial body carrying inertia body 2 insulated from housing and used to close electric circuit, flexible members 3 whose rigidity defines moment of sensor operation, and two leads 4 and 5 to connect it to power supply source 6 and consumer 7. Fitted in housing 1 is electromagnet with winding 8 and current-carrying core electrically insulated from inertia body 2 and housing 1. Core is made up of outer part 9 and inner part 10 connected by thread to provide setting of core inner part 10 relative to inertia body 2 in position providing, with due account of actual rigidity of flexible member 3, an electric contact between inertia body 2 and core 10 when value of mechanical overload reaches preset level. One end 11 of winding 8 is electrically connected with core 10, other end 4 is the first lead to connect sensor to power supply source 6. Second lead 5, constantly electrically connected to inertia body, is used to connect sensor to consumer 7. Inertia body 2 made of magnetically soft material serves simultaneously as armature of electromagnet. Owing to deformation of flexible member 3 by means of setting screw 14 which electrically connects inertia body 2 with additional third lead designed for shunting consumer 7, inertia body can be installed with clearance relative to inner part 10 of core. This clearance is found to provide electric strength of circuit between first lead 4 and second lead 5 of sensor. EFFECT: enhanced reliability of operation. 1 dwg