Sensor chip with additional heating element, method for preventing a sensor chip from being soiled, and use of an additional heating element on a sensor chip
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorsHans Hecht, Uwe Konzelmann, Torsten Schulz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In the case of a sensor chip according to the related art, impurities in a flowing medium may be deposited in the area of a sensor area and may permanently soil it, resulting in a negative effect on the measurement response of the membrane. In the case of the novel sensor chip (1), an additional heater (39) is situated upstream and at a definite distance from the sensor area, resulting in the impurities in the flowing medium being deposited in the area of the additional heater (39), i.e., in their being unable to reach the sensor area (17).
Claims20
A sensor chip for measuring at least one parameter of a flowing medium, having a sensor area for at least one measurement method,
- wherein at least one additional heater (39) is situated on the sensor chip (1) at a distance from the sensor area (17), and the sensor area (17) is operated independently of the additional heater (39).
A use of at least one additional heater (39) for forming thermal gradient eddies (65) in a flowing medium in the area of the additional heater (39), the additional heater (39) for determining at least one parameter of a flowing medium being situated on a sensor chip (1) and at a distance from a sensor area (17) of the sensor chip (1).
A method of preventing contamination on a sensor chip (1) which has a sensor area (17) and is situated in a flowing medium,
- wherein at least one additional heater (39) is heated electrically due to its ohmic resistance so that thermal gradient eddies are formed in the area of the additional heater (39), resulting in precipitation of the contaminants in the flowing medium in the area of the additional heater (39), away from the area of the sensor area (17).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.