Dynamic sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9146254-B2
Application number	US-201213714498-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2012
Priority date	Jun 15, 2010
Publication date	Sep 29, 2015
Grant date	Sep 29, 2015

Abstract

A dynamic sensor includes a weight having an H shape in a plan view. The weight includes a first weight portion and a second weight portion which have substantially rectangular parallelepiped shapes and are aligned in a short side direction at an interval and a bridge portion which connects the first and second weight portions and extends in the aligned direction. The bridge portion connects the first and second weight portions at an approximate center thereof in a long side direction. Supports are located in a region between the first and second weight portions where the bridge portion is not provided. The first weight portion is connected to a first support via a first beam and to a second support via a second beam. The second weight portion is connected to the first support via a third beam and to the second support via a fourth beam.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dynamic sensor comprising:
a plurality of supports;
a plurality of beams including a plurality of piezoresistive elements provided therein;
a weight that is oscillatably supported on the supports by the beams and is arranged to detect a stress occurring in the beams due to oscillation of the weight to detect a physical characteristic based on an applied force; wherein
the weight includes a first weight portion and a second weight portion which are aligned along a first axis direction and a bridge portion which is provided at an approximate center of the first weight portion and the second weight portion in a second axis direction perpendicular to the first axis direction and which connects the first weight portion and the second weight portion;
the supports extend along the second axis direction such that the bridge portion of the weight is located therebetween, and so as to be spaced apart from the weight; and
the beams are provided on both sides of the bridge portion along the second axis direction and extend along the first axis direction to directly connect the first weight portion to the support and the second weight portion to the support.

2. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of piezoresistive elements are each provided at an area of a connection end of each of the beams on the support side.

3. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight portion and the second weight portion have the same weight.

4. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight portion and the second weight portion weigh different amounts.

5. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first weight portion, the second weight portion and the bridge portion has a rectangular or substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

6. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the weight is H-shaped or substantially H-shaped.

7. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the bridge portion has the same or substantially the same thickness as thicknesses of the first weight portion and the second weight portion.

8. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , further comprising a housing wall surrounding the weight and integral with the supports.

9. The dynamic sensor according to claim 8 , wherein the weight and the supports and the housing wall form a perimeter of a space.

10. The dynamic sensor according to claim 8 , wherein a cover is joined to the support and the housing wall so as to not be in contact with the weight.

11. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein heights of the supports are larger than a thickness of the weight.

12. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the beams have the same or substantially the same shape.

13. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , further comprising a wiring electrode pattern arranged to connect the piezoresistive elements to define a Wheatstone bridge.

14. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the piezoresistive elements are provided in connection end regions of the beams.

15. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight portion and the second weight portion have the same shapes.

16. The dynamic sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight portion and the second weight portion have different shapes.

Assignees

• Murata Manufacturing Co

Inventors

• Yoshida Kazuhiro
• Hamamura Hiroshi

Classifications

• B81B3/0021

  Transducers for transforming electrical into mechanical energy or vice versa (dynamo-electric machines H02K99/00; electrostatic machines H02N1/00; piezoelectric devices H10N30/00) · CPC title

• B81B2201/0235

  Accelerometers · CPC title

• G01P15/09

  by piezoelectric pick-up · CPC title

• G01P15/123 Primary

  by piezo-resistive elements, e.g. semiconductor strain gauges · CPC title