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Sensor element and particle sensor

  • US 5,825,119 A
  • Filed: 04/04/1997
  • Issued: 10/20/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A sensor element for detecting a solid particle in a fluid, comprising:

  • a substrate comprising (i) a main body having an opening formed therethrough in a thickness direction thereof, and (ii) a thin-walled vibrating portion covering the opening along an upper surface of said main body; and

    a detecting unit formed on an upper surface of said thin-walled vibrating portion remote from the opening formed through said main body, said detecting unit comprising a piezoelectric film, a first electrode coated on at least a portion of the outer surface of said piezoelectric film, and a second electrode coated on at least a portion of the inner surface of said piezoelectric film,wherein the fluid and the solid particles therein pass through the opening formed through said main body and said detecting unit and said thin-walled vibrating portion have sufficiently low mass such that when the solid particles strike said thin-walled vibrating portion said thin-walled vibrating portion and said detecting unit vibrate, and said piezoelectric film converts the resulting vibration into an electric signal, said detecting unit and said thin-walled vibrating portion being substantially motionless when the fluid and particles therein do not pass through the opening.

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