Capacitor pressure transducer with housing

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pressure transducer and assembly which overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved capacitive pressure transducer and assembly which has less stress applied to a pressure sensing flexible diaphragm when the transducer is mounted to a housing wall.
According to the present invention an improved pressure transducer having a pressure displaceable diaphragm whose position determines electrical characteristics of the transducer is provided.
The pressure transducer is adaptable for mounting to a housing wall and comprises: base substrate means having a top surface with a peripheral portion and a bottom surface; flexible diaphragm means having a planar central portion and a surrounding peripheral portion along the perimeter of the diaphragm means; mounting means for mounting said peripheral portion of said diaphragm means to said base substrate top surface peripheral portion, said mounting means, said diaphragm planar central portion and said substrate top surface generally forming an internal cavity, said diaphragm central portion being displaceable with respect to said top surface in response to pressure changes, wherein said internal cavity maintains a fixed reference pressure and pressures applied exterior to said internal cavity caused said diaphragm means to flex and thereby alter electrical characteristics of said transducer in response to pressure changes; and a flange means attached to said base substrate means and extending laterally with respect to and beyond said top surface peripheral portion and said peripheral portion of said diaphragm means, whereby said flange means forms a mounting ledge by which said transducer can be mounted without applying stress to said diaphragm means: More specifically, the present invention provides for utilizing the above described pressure transducer in a pressure transducer assembly in which an annular sealing means is mounted on the extending flange means, and mounting means is provided for mounting the transducer and the annular sealing means to a housing wall wherein the sealing means, the housing wall and the flexible diaphragm means essentially form an external cavity to which pressures can be applied to cause displacement of the flexible diaphragm means to thereby alter the electrical characteristics of the pressure transducer in response to pressure changes