Thermal measuring and testing – Temperature measurement – Combined with diverse art device
Patent
1996-06-14
1998-10-27
Gutierrez, Diego F. F.
Thermal measuring and testing
Temperature measurement
Combined with diverse art device
374130, 374133, 219710, 219494, G01K 1300, G01J 508, G01J 516
Patent
active
058269827
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a temperature-compensated sensor module, especially one for registering infrared radiation, in order to measure the temperature in domestic electrical devices. Such a sensor module of the prior art has a hollow mirror with a focal point at which is located a sensor element of which an output signal is compared with a reference signal and is transformed into a temperature signal in an evaluation circuit, such a sensor module being shown, by way of example, in DE-38 43 947 C1.
The domestic device that is described there is a toaster that has been equipped with an infrared detector whose output signal is compared with a target value via a comparator. The device is switched off in the event that the target value is exceeded. The measurement accuracy of this arrangement varies markedly with the ambient temperature that prevails at the location of usage of the infrared detector. In order to increase the measurement accuracy, the infrared detector would have to be thermally insulated from the ambient temperature variations and this is technically expensive and time-consuming.
A heating/boiling device is known from EP-15 710 D1, especially a microwave oven, with a sensor module that preferably has a pyroelectric IR detector onto which infrared radiation, that emanates from the article that is being cooked (i.e. the object that is being measured), is imaged via an input window--that is termed a "peep hole"--a chopper and a hollow mirror and then through a cylindrical measurement tube with a length of approximately 150 mm and a parabolic mirror that is arranged at the end of the measurement tube. The detector and the parabolic mirror have the same optical axis; as a result of this, the central area of the radiation, that is to be measured, is blocked off. In addition, a motor and a light box are required for the chopper. Moreover, mechanical devices with a separate drive are needed in order to prevent the penetration of steam into the measurement channel of the infrared detector, whereby a shutter has been arranged at the entrance to the measurement tube that closes the measurement tube after each measurement. In addition, a heating element is proposed in order to heat the hollow mirror in a defined manner. In total, this sensor module is constructed in a very expensive manner and is prone to malfunctioning and is cost-intensive as a result of the plurality of its components, especially its mechanically driven components.
A further infrared detector arrangement in a microwave oven is known from DE-26 21 457 C3. In the case of this solution, the infrared radiation that originates from several locations of the article, that is being cooked, is registered sequentially. A pyroelectric detector is again used in combination with a chopper arrangement that consists of two shutter diaphragms that rotate at different speeds, whereby the shutter diaphragms have several holes.
This detector arrangement does not have optical focussing components (lenses or mirrors) in order to restrict the visual angle. Instead of this, various locations of the cooking zone are sensed through the holes that are applied to the second disk. The microwave oven is switched off when the highest temperature occurs.
This application is not suitable for small or lengthy objects, that are to be measured, since these do not cover a large portion of the cooking zone. In addition, further sources of error are possible as a result of the feature that, after several heating processes using a higher temperature, the surroundings of the cooking zone can be "hotter" than the article itself that is being cooked. Additional sources of error can arise via the inherent and reflected radiation from the rotating disks.
The detector arrangement is relatively expensive and is prone to malfunctioning as a result, in particular, of the two moving parts that are driven at different speeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The task that forms the basis of the present invention is to propose a sensor module, especially
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Quad Reiner
Schieferdecker Jorg
Schulze Mischa
Gutierrez Diego F. F.
Heimann Optoelectronics GmbH
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