Pressure transducer

A pressure transducer comprising:

• a beam structure having a unitary axially symmetrical body with a hollow generally cylindrical side wall and a flat end disk, said side wall terminating at one end with said end disk;
• said side wall terminating at its end opposite said end disk in a generally planar annular surface;
• said end disk having two parallel spaced slots extending through said end disk symmetrically on either side of a diameter of said end disk, to form a beam between said slots joined at each end to said body and deflectable upon application of force against said end disk;
• said beam adapted to be deflected in response to pressure to be detected;
• a piezo-resistive strip mounted on and extending along said beam on one side of the center of said beam, said piezo-resistive strip having a terminal pad at each end and a terminal pad at the center, whereby upon deflection of said beam, the resistance between said center pad and one end pad increases while the resistance between said center pad and the other end pad decreases;
• a header generally of cylindrical conformation adjacent said beam, and having three contacts held thereby, each connected to a respective one of said terminals pads;
• and
• a circuit board, said board having a set of input terminals connected respectively to said contacts, and a set of output terminals.

A sealed pressure transducer comprising

• a housing having a hollow space adapted to communicate with a source of pressurized medium to be sensed, and
• a beam supporting structure,
• said housing having a generally planar surface adapted to mate with a surface of said beam supporting structure,
• said housing surface having an outer annular seating surface section, an annular ridge concentrically within said seating surface section, and a gasket-seating annular area concentrically within said ridge, with said hollow space being within said gasket-seating area,
• said beam-supporting structure having a generally substantially flat surface mating with said housing surface, and also having a recessed annular groove mating with said ridge,
• a compressible gasket in said gasket-seating area, and
• a diaphragm of a flat disk shape over said hollow space and gasket-seating area,
• said beam structure having a flat surface area opposed to said gasket-seating area and spaced therefrom by the compressed thickness of said gasket plus the thickness of said diaphragm.

A pressure transducer comprising

• a housing having a hollow space adapted to communicate with a source of pressurized medium to be sensed, and
• a beam structure having an outwardly extending flange at one end,
• said housing having a generally planar surface adapted to mate with said beam structure,
• said surface having an annular seating surface section mating with said flange,
• a header structure juxtaposed to said beam structure opposite said housing and having an exterior flange, and
• a spacer engaging said header flange at one end and said beam structure flange at the other end,
• said housing having an integral skirt retaining said spacer against said flanges and thereby rigidly retaining together said header, said beam structure and said housing.