Sensata Technologies Offers New Sensors for Complete Cabin Comfort

New Humidity Sensor and Air Classification Module Demonstrated at SAE

SAE 2007 World Congress, Detroit (April 16, 2007) – Sensata Technologies today presented a range of new sensor devices that will help automotive designers build a more comfortable and safer cabin interior environment for consumers. The company introduced a new Air Classification Module (ACM) that monitors unhealthy and unpleasant traffic-generated gases such as CO (Carbon Monoxide), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and HC (Hydrocarbon), as well as a series of humidity and temperature sensors to control cabin humidity and reduce windshield fogging.

“The days of just controlling hot and cold cabin temperature are over,” said Bill LeBeau, market segment manager at Sensata Technologies. “The automotive market knows that customers want their entire cabin environment – temperature, air quality, humidity – to be balanced and comfortable.”

Air Classification Module (ACM)
Sensata Technologies is introducing a new Air Classification Module (ACM) that can more accurately prevent the build-up of external traffic-related and other unpleasant, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) gases from entering the vehicle cabin.

The ACM sensor’s electromechanical sensor elements more precisely detect traffic-related and VOC gases to control the amount of exterior air entering the cabin by opening or closing the air vent flap.  Sensata’s ACM differs from traditional sensors in that it measures absolute versus relative levels of gases.  This distinction is important in preventing a gradual or relative build up of harmful gas as opposed to an absolute sensor which measures a pre-set level of gases to immediately restrict exterior air from entering the cabin.   

Humidity / Temperature Sensors
Sensata Technologies also demonstrated its family of capacitive humidity / temperature sensors for climate control and windshield anti-fogging systems. Built on proven MEMS technology from Sensata and an advanced thin-film polymer capacitive sensing element, this new line of humidity / temperature sensors has a response that is five times faster and provides twice the initial accuracy of traditional resistive sensor technologies.  Humidity sensors are available in either windshield-mounted or in-dash configurations.

Sensata Technologies’ capacitive sensing element relies on a porous electrode, which allows water vapor to pass through the thin-film dielectric as air is drawn over the element. The change in capacitance and the signal from an on-board temperature sensor are passed into the company’s proven MEMS signal conditioning processor, which translates these readings into a relative humidity signal. Sensata’s signal conditioning processor is far more accurate and offers a five times faster response compared with other capacitive or resistive sensing systems.

Sensata Technologies’ in-panel humidity / temperature sensor  measures temperature and relative humidity within the cabin, sending input to the air conditioning control system which can open or close cabin recirculation door or turn on or off the AC compressor for optimal passenger comfort. 

Windshield Anti-Fogging Systems
Sensata Technologies’ windshield mounted humidity and temperature sensor measures relative humidity, the temperature of the glass and ambient air to enable a dew point calculation.  The AC control unit combines these three signals to activate the AC compressor to dry the warm or cool air for faster automatic defogging.

By enabling climate control and windshield anti-fogging systems to better optimize air-conditioning compressor usage, vehicle fuel economy is increased. According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey, windshield defogging requires four times more energy than preventing fogging from occurring via a continuously running system.

CO2 & Alternate Refrigerant AC Systems – APT Pressure & Temperature Sensors
With the move toward non-freon AC systems, which use environmentally friendly C02 or alternate refrigerants, the demands for accurate, high-pressure monitoring have increased.  Sensata Technologies offers a high pressure and temperature measurement sensor using Monocrystalline Strain Gauge (MSG) technology.

For more information about Sensata Technologies and its full line of products for the automotive industry, please call 508-236-3800 or visit www.sensata.com.