Tight installation space requires space saving solutions. When developing a new pressure sensor for measuring the supply pressure in automotive fuel systems the research community, made up of several companies and institutes, therefore preferred the LPKF LDS technology. The goal: developing a sensor system immune to interference to provide reliable fuel pump pressure readings in cars with wireless transmission to a controller.
 
The readings contribute to minimizing power transmission loss. An efficient accessories management improves energy efficiency and reduces emissions.
At the center of this energy management is a pressure sensor developed by a research community under the project sponsorship of VDI/VDE-IT. What’s special about the sensor: it omits any delicate cables and plugs, saving space and weight. Since the system is self-sufficient, powered by kinetic energy from the engine’s vibration spectrum, the wiring could be omitted altogether.

The sensor system was realized by combining the pressure sensor, microcontroller and radio module subgroups into a compact MID package, while leaving the microgenerator a separate assembly. Sensor, controller and radio board are electrically connected through LDS rewiring inside a plastic housing via LDS yet protected outward.

According to the assessment of Dr. Martin Kurth (A. Raymond GmbH, read in PLUS 2/2011, pg. 400 ff.) participants in the project – the companies GEMAC, EPCOS and A. Raymond and the institutes HSG-IMAT and HSG-IMIT – have implemented a fully functional and practical concept of an energy self-sufficient MID pressure sensor.