Pressure sensor, acoustic microphone, blood pressure sensor, and touch panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9596995-B2
Application number	US-201414197448-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2014
Priority date	Jun 12, 2013
Publication date	Mar 21, 2017
Grant date	Mar 21, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a pressure sensor includes a film part, and a sensing unit. A circumscribing rectangle circumscribing a configuration of a film surface of the film part has a first side, a second side, a third side connected to one end of the first side and one end of the second side, a fourth side connected to one other end of the first side and one other end of the second side, and a centroid of the circumscribing rectangle. The circumscribing rectangle includes a first region enclosed by the first side, line segments connecting the centroid to the one end of the first side, and to the one other end of the first side. The sensing unit includes sensing elements provided on a portion of the film surface overlapping the first region. Each sensing element includes a first, second magnetic layers, and a spacer layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pressure sensor, comprising:
a film part supported by a support unit, the film part being flexible, the film part having a firm surface; and
a sensing unit,
a circumscribing rectangle configured to circumscribe a configuration of the film surface, the circumscribing rectangle having:
a first side extending in a first direction, the first direction being along the film surface;
a second side extending in the first direction to be separated from the first side;
a third side extending in a second direction to be connected to one end of the first side and one end of the second side, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction and being along the film surface;
a fourth side extending in the second direction to be separated from the third side and connected to one other end of the first side and one other end of the second side; and
a centroid of the circumscribing rectangle,

the circumscribing rectangle including a first region, a second region, a third region, and a fourth region,
the first region being enclosed by the first side, a first line segment and a second line segment, the first line segment connecting the centroid to the one end of the first side, the second line segment connecting the centroid to the one other end of the first side,
the second region being enclosed by the second side, a third line segment and a fourth line segment, the third line segment connecting the centroid to the one end of the second side, the fourth line segment connecting the centroid to the one other end of the second side,
the third region being enclosed by the third side, the first line segment and the third line segment,
the fourth region being enclosed by the fourth side, the second line segment and the fourth line segment,

the sensing unit including a plurality of sensing elements provided on a first portion of the film surface overlapping the first region, each of the plurality of sensing elements including a first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer provided between the first magnetic layer and the film part, and a spacer layer provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer,
positions of at least two of the plurality of sensing elements provided on the first portion along the first direction being different from each other,
the at least two of the plurality of sensing elements provided on the first portion are connected electrically in series, and
the at least two of the plurality of sensing elements provided on the first portion are not connected electrically to any sensing element provided on a third portion of the film surface overlapping the third region, and are not connected electrically to any sensing element provided on a fourth portion of the film surface overlapping the fourth region, or no sensing element is provided on the third portion and on the fourth portion.

2. The sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic layer is a magnetization free layer, and
a magnetization direction of the magnetization free layer in a state in which an external pressure is not applied is different from the first direction and different from the second direction.

3. The sensor according to claim 1 , wherein a surface area of the film part is not less than 2500 μm 2 and not more than 360000 μm 2 .

4. The sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic layer is a magnetization free layer, and the second magnetic layer is a magnetization fixed layer.

5. The sensor according to claim 1 , wherein a length of the sensing elements in the first direction when the sensing elements are projected onto the film surface is not less than 0.1 micrometers and not more than 50 micrometers.

6. An acoustic microphone including the pressure sensor according to claim 1 .

7. A blood pressure sensor including the pressure sensor according to claim 1 .

8. A touch panel including the pressure sensor according to claim 1 .

9. The sensor according to claim 1 , wherein a first length of the film part in the first direction is longer than a second length of the film part in the second direction,
the first side has the first length,
the second side has the first length,
the third side has the second length, and
the fourth side has the second length.

10. The sensor according to claim 9 , wherein the film surface has a central portion, and a peripheral portion provided around the central portion, and
the plurality of sensing elements are provided on the peripheral portion.

11. The sensor according to claim 10 , wherein the configuration of the film surface has the first side, the second side, the third side, and the fourth side,
the peripheral portion has a first element disposition region provided along the first side inside the first region, and
the plurality of sensing elements are disposed in the first element disposition region.

12. The sensor according to claim 11 , wherein a width of the first element disposition region in the second direction is not more than 0.1 times the second length,
a length of the first element disposition region in the first direction is not more than 0.5 times the first length, and
a distance in the first direction between a center of the first element disposition region in the first direction and a center of the film part in the first direction is not more than 1/10 of the second length.

13. The sensor according to claim 11 , wherein a ratio of the second length to the first length is not less than 0.8 and less than 1, and
a length of the first element disposition region in the first direction is not more than 0.5 times the first length, and a width of the first element disposition region in the second direction is not more than 0.05 times the second length.

14. The sensor according to claim 11 , wherein a ratio of the second length to the first length is less than 0.8,
a width of the first element disposition region in the second direction is not more than (L2/2)×{1−0.125×(L2/L1)+0.8},
a length of the first element disposition region in the first direction is not more than L1×{−0.375×(L2/L1)+0.8}, and
a distance in the first direction between a center of the first element disposition region in the first direction and a center of the film part in the first direction is not more than 1/10 of the second length, where the first length is L1 and the second length is L2.

15. The sensor according to claim 10 , wherein the configuration of the film surface is a flattened circle having the first direction as a major axis and the second direction as a minor axis,
the peripheral portion has a first element disposition region provided along an arc along the major axis, and
the plurality of sensing elements are disposed in the first element disposition region.

16. The sensor according to claim 9 , wherein a ratio of the second length to the first length is not less than 0.25 and less than 1.0.

17. The sensor according to claim 9 , wherein a ratio of the second length to the first length is not less than 0.64 and less than 1.0.

18. The sensor according to claim 9 , wherein a ratio of the second length to the first length is not more than 0.25.

19. The sensor according to claim 9 , wherein the second length is not less than 20 μm and not more than 500 μm.

20. A pressure sensor, comprising:
a film part supported by a support unit, the film part being flexible, the film part having a film surface; and
a sensing unit,
a configuration of the film surface having:
a first side extending in a first directi

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Fuji Yoshihiko
• Masunishi Kei
• Fukuzawa Hideaki
• Higashi Yoshihiro
• Hara Michiko
• Hori Akio
• Nagata Tomohiko
• Kaji Shiori
• Yuzawa Akiko

Classifications

• G01L9/0051

  using variations in ohmic resistance · CPC title

• G01L1/205

  using distributed sensing elements · CPC title

• H04R1/04

  Structural association of microphone with electric circuitry therefor (in electric hearing aids H04R25/00) · CPC title

• A61B5/02141 Primary

  Details of apparatus construction, e.g. pump units or housings therefor, cuff pressurising systems, arrangements of fluid conduits or circuits (A61B5/02233, A61B5/0235 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01L1/2262

  involving simple electrical bridges · CPC title