Load Cell and Method of Compensating the Same

1. Field of the Invention

This invention concerns a load cell in which strain gage resistors, lead portions and the like are formed by lamination by utilizing thin film techniques, as well as a method of compensating the same.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Heretofore, in the load cell of this kind, four strain gage resistor portions, lead portions for their bridge connections and compensating portions for the compensation of bridge balance, span or the like are formed with thin metal films on an insulation film formed on one side of a beam, and the thin metal films at the compensating portions are trimmed upon adjustment after assembling. Although the trimming is carried out by machining using a cutter or the like, it involves the drawback of injuring the underlying insulation film, being poor in the workability and causing defective insulation. Particularly, in a case where the thin metal films are coated with a protection film, trimming also has to be carried out on the protection film, which further worsens the workability.

The first object of this invention is to perform the compensation with ease by trimming the compensating portions formed by the thin film technique by the utilization of laser beams.

The second object of this invention is to use a protection film capable of easily absorbing the laser beams, thereby surely performing the trimming work.

The third object this invention is to prevent the insulation films in contact with the beams from being damaged.

Other objects of this invention will be made clearer by the following descriptions.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a beam showing one embodiment according to this invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view for the laminated state of metal thin films, an insulation film and a protection film,

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the pattern of a bridge circuit.

This invention will now be described referring to one embodiment in conjunction with the drawings. A beam 1 is prepared by machining stainless steel or high strength aluminum material. The beam 1 is formed with an opening 2 to define thin-walled strain-causing portions 3 at four positions, and further formed with mounting holes 4 for mounting to the base of a balance (not illustrated) and a connection hole 5 for mounting a loading plate (not illustrated) of the balance.

On the pattern forming face 6 at the upper surface of the beam 1, are successively laminated an insulation film 7, a thin metal film 8 made of NiCrSi, a thin metal film 9 made of NiCrSi+Ti and a thin metal film 10 made of Au or the like, by means of vapor deposition or sputtering.

Then, a pattern 12 as shown in FIG. 3 is formed by selectively etching these thin metal films, 8, 9 and 10. Specifically, there are formed four strain gage resistor portions 13 in the thin metal film 8 each being of about 0.1.mu. thickness, and bridge balance compensating portions 14, as well as compensating portions 15, 16 made of the thin metal film 9 of about 0.1.mu. thickness and lead portions 17 made of the thin metal film 10 of about 0.1.mu. thickness. The compensating portion 15 is used for span temperature compensation and the compensating portion 16 is used for the temperature compensation of the bridge balance. The lead portions 17 serve as the bridge coupling of the strain gage resistor portions 13 and the compensating portions 14, 15 and 16. After applying the etching in this way, a protection film 11 is covered over the thin metal films 8, 9 and 10. The protection film 11 is prepared by coating a polyimide resin of about 10.mu. thickness and incorporated with a black pigment such as carbon or ferrite in order to facilitate the absorption of laser beams. The pigment may instead be red or yellow, or a mixture of two or more of the above colors. The insulation film 7 of about 10.mu. thickness is also made of a polyimide resin but of colorless transparent material.

In such a structure, the compensating portions 15 and 16 are cut as required by the laser beams to adjust the value of the resistance. In this case, the protection film corresponding to the cut portions of the compensating portions 15 and 16 is also cut partially. Those portions applied with the laser beams are heated to a high temperature and vaporized. However, since they may not be evaporated completely, they are blown out by using air or N.sub.2 gas. While trimming is carried out in this way, there is no risk of injuring the insulation film 7, as in the case of the machining, due to a slight error or deviation in the feed amount of a cutting blade. Particularly, since the insulation film is colorless and transparent, it is not destroyed even if the laser beams are applied for for somewhat longer period. As a result, trimming work can be carried out extremely easily and the deterioration in the insulation can also be prevented. Further, since the thin metal films 8, 9, 10, other than the trimmed portion, are coated with the protection film 11, they are not corroded and can maintain stable characteristics for a long period of time.