COST OVERMOLDED LEADFRAME FORCE SENSOR WITH MULTIPLE MOUNTING POSITIONS

A force sensor (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) comprising: a leadframe (102) comprising: a base having a first major surface and an opposing second major surface, with a base side wall extending between the first major surface and the opposing second major surface; a plurality of conductive traces supported by the base; a plurality of leads (116) each electrically coupled to one or more of the plurality of conductive traces, each of the plurality of leads having a lead end that is spaced from the base; a sense die (104, 204) electrically coupled to two or more of the plurality of conductive traces, the sense die comprising one or more piezoresistive sensing elements for sensing a force applied to the sense die, wherein the sense die comprises a first major surface and an opposing second major surface, with a sense die side wall extending between the first major surface and the opposing second major surface, and wherein the opposing second major surface of the sense die faces the first major surface of the base; and an encapsulant (108) engaging both the base and the sense die for providing structural rigidity to the force sensor, wherein the lead end of at least some of the plurality of leads extends outside of the encapsulant to allow for an electrical coupling of the lead end to an external component.