Inclination detecting optical sensor and a process for producing the same
First Claim
1. A process for producing an inclination detecting sensor comprising the steps of:
- providing a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device;
molding an opaque resin to said light-emitting and receiving devices so as to form a body having a hollow space defined by an inclined surface between said two devices;
placing a sphere into said hollow space; and
fitting a lid on said body in such a way as to close said hollow space;
wherein the inclined surface provides a rest position for the sphere when the body having the hollow space is in a vertical orientation and permits the sphere to move away from the rest position when the body is inclined by a selected angle from the vertical orientation and wherein the light-emitting device and the light-receiving device are mounted adjacent to the hollow space at a location spaced from the rest position of the sphere so that substantially all of a light beam passing from the light-emitting device to the light-receiving device is blocked by the sphere to detect the presence of the sphere when it reaches the selected location but substantially none of the light beam passing from the light-emitting device to the light-receiving device is blocked by the sphere when it is in the rest position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical sensor that has a simple structure and which yet enables positive detection of the inclination of an object of interest, and also to provide a process for producing the same. The improved sensor comprises a light-emitting element, a light-receiving element, a body having an inclined surface formed between the two elements, a lid fitted over the body, and a sphere placed between the body and the lid in such a way that it is capable of movement down the inclined surface. In the process, a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device, both subjected to primary molding, are respectively set between the lower and the middle part of a split mold and between the middle and the upper part of the mold; secondary molding is then performed by injecting an opaque resin into the cavity defined by the lower, middle and upper parts of the mold.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A process for producing an inclination detecting sensor comprising the steps of:
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providing a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device; molding an opaque resin to said light-emitting and receiving devices so as to form a body having a hollow space defined by an inclined surface between said two devices; placing a sphere into said hollow space; and fitting a lid on said body in such a way as to close said hollow space; wherein the inclined surface provides a rest position for the sphere when the body having the hollow space is in a vertical orientation and permits the sphere to move away from the rest position when the body is inclined by a selected angle from the vertical orientation and wherein the light-emitting device and the light-receiving device are mounted adjacent to the hollow space at a location spaced from the rest position of the sphere so that substantially all of a light beam passing from the light-emitting device to the light-receiving device is blocked by the sphere to detect the presence of the sphere when it reaches the selected location but substantially none of the light beam passing from the light-emitting device to the light-receiving device is blocked by the sphere when it is in the rest position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An inclination detecting optical sensor comprising:
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a housing formed with a passage which inclines upwardly from a rest position within the housing; a body disposed within the passage which is normally retained in the rest position when the housing is disposed in a vertical orientation and which is movable along the passage when the housing is titled away from the vertical orientation by an angle greater than a selected angle; and optical sensor means providing a light beam passing within the passage directly from a light source to a detector at a position where it is not intercepted by the body when the body is in the rest position so that substantially all of the light beam is detected by the detector but is intercepted by the body when the body is at a selected location spaced from the rest position. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification