JPH09145364A - Inclination detection sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inclination detection sensor which is of a simple structure and by which the inclination of an object to be detected can be detected surely by a method wherein a part of an electrode terminal protruding from an opaque resin body which houses a sphere on a slope is installed so as to be extended along the rear surface of the opaque resin body. SOLUTION: In an opaque resin body 1, a nearly V-shaped recessed part having slopes 3a is formed, and a sphere 4 is housed on the slopes 3a so as to be freely movable. A light-emitting device 5 and a photodetector 6 are arranged so as sandwich a recessed-part space 3b. When an object, to be detected, on which a detection sensor is installed is tilted at a prescribed angle or higher, the sphere 4 is moved on the slopes 3a so as to be separated from a reference position, light from the element 5 is transmitted to the photodetector 6, and the inclination of the object to be detected can be detected. Then, in the detection sensor, parts which are nearly parallel along the rear surface of the opaque resin body 1 of its lead terminals 2 are placed on wiring patterns on a mounting board via a solder paste which is coated in advance, and the terminals are mounted by the reflow operation of solder which is melted inside a heating furnace in this state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilt detecting sensor for detecting the tilt of an object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an inclination detecting sensor is composed of a light emitting element which emits light and a light receiving element which is provided so as to be able to receive the light emitted from the light emitting element. There is widely known a photo interrupter that detects the presence or absence of an object by detecting whether the generated light is blocked or not.

As a conventional tilt detecting optical sensor using a photo interrupter, as shown in FIG.
1a and a light emitting element 21 capable of receiving light generated from the light emitting element 21a
a photointerrupter 21 including a light receiving element 21b provided to face a, and a photointerrupter 21 inside.
A lower case 22 made of a resin molded body having an open upper part 22a for storing
an upper case 23 attached to a, and a bearing 23 extending downward from the upper case 23 into the lower case 22.
Light-emitting and light-receiving element 2 centering on a shaft 23b pivotally supported by
A fan-shaped shading plate 2 swingably provided between 1a and 21b
A structure consisting of 4 and 4 is known.

In this type of sensor, since the light shielding plate 24 is always positioned below the support shaft 23b due to the action of gravity, when it is mounted or fixed on an object to be detected (not shown) whose inclination is to be detected. When the sensor is in the horizontal state or in the non-inclined state where the inclination is within a certain range, the light generated from the light emitting element 21a toward the light receiving element 21b is blocked by the light shielding plate 24, so that the light is transmitted to the light receiving element 21b. Light is not received, but when the object to be detected is tilted to one side beyond a certain angle, the light shield plate 24 corresponds to the photointerrupter 21 fixed to the lower case 22. Since the relative position is shifted, the light generated from the light emitting element 21a is not blocked by the light shielding plate 24 and is received by the light receiving element 21b.
The light is received on the side, and a current is generated between the lead terminals of the lead terminals 21b of the light receiving element 21b by this light reception, and the inclination is detected.

[0005]

The demand for the sensor using the photo interrupter as described above is increased with the progress of the semiconductor technology and the technology relating to the optical element, and the number of parts in the manufacturing is further reduced and the process is simplified. There is a strong demand. However, in the conventional sensor as described above,
Bearings 23 for providing the light shielding plate 24 on the upper case 23
a must be provided, and the light-shielding plate 2 formed with a specific shape for tilt detection on a support shaft 23b that is pivotally supported.
4 must be integrally formed or separately formed, and then provided by assembling, which makes it difficult to reduce the number of parts below a certain level due to mechanical complexity, and simplifies the manufacturing process to a certain degree. It is difficult to go beyond.

Accordingly, the present invention is to obtain an inclination detection sensor which has a simple structure and is capable of surely detecting the inclination of an object to be detected, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a light emitting element embedded in one of translucent resin bodies facing each other, and a light receiving element embedded in the other of the translucent resin bodies. An element, an opaque resin body integrally covering the facing translucent resin body so that an inclined surface is formed at a position where they face each other, and a sphere movable along the inclined surface, A lid mounted on the opaque resin body so as to cover the sphere on the inclined surface, wherein the one end is electrically connected to one of the light emitting element and the light receiving element. The other end has an electrode terminal protruding from the non-translucent resin body through one of the translucent resin bodies and the non-translucent resin body, and a part of the protruding electrode terminal is An inclination detection sensor, which is extended along the lower surface of the opaque resin body. It is intended to provide.

According to the present invention, a light emitting element embedded in one of the translucent resin bodies facing each other, a light receiving element embedded in the other of the translucent resin bodies, and the translucent resin body facing each other. An opaque resin body integrally covering the inclined surface so that the inclined surface is formed at a position where they face, a sphere movable along the inclined surface, and a sphere on the inclined surface so as to cover the sphere. A tilt detection sensor comprising: a lid mounted on an opaque resin body, wherein one end is electrically connected to one of the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the other end is the light transmitting element. Has an electrode terminal projecting from one of the light-transmitting resin bodies through one of the light-transmitting resin bodies and the light-transmitting resin body, and a part of the protruding electrode terminal is provided on the lower side surface of the light-transmitting resin body. The present invention provides a tilt detection sensor characterized by being extended along the tilt detection sensor.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of a tilt detecting sensor according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The tilt detection sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention has a perspective view (as viewed from below) shown in FIG.
It has an opaque resin body 1 made of a substantially cubic liquid crystal polymer resin, and four lead terminals (electrode terminals) 2 protruding from the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1.

Each of the lead terminals 2 is made of an opaque resin body 1.
Has a fishhook shape in which it protrudes from the lower surface of the plate, is bent and extends substantially parallel to the lower surface, and is further bent and extends along the lower portion of the side surface. As shown in FIG. 1B, which is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
A substantially V-shaped recess having inclined surfaces 3a, 3a is formed. The inclined surface 3a is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1.

A spherical body 4 made of stainless steel is movably accommodated on the inclined surface 3a in the concave space 3b. Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, which is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1A, the light emitting element 5 and the light receiving element 6 are arranged so as to sandwich the concave space 3b (at a position facing the inclined surface 3a). Are arranged. The light emitting element 5 is the lead terminal 2 described above.
It is die-bonded on one end and is made of an epoxy resin in a state of being electrically connected by wire bonding (not shown) to the lead terminal 2 arranged in parallel with the die-bonding (in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface). It is covered with the light-sensitive resin body 7. Then, the lead terminal 2 passes through the translucent resin body 7 and the opaque resin body 1, and projects from the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1 as described above. Incidentally, the light receiving element 6 side has substantially the same structure.

Further, a lid 8 made of an opaque resin such as a liquid crystal polymer resin is mounted on the upper surface of the opaque resin body 1 so as to cover the recess space 3b. As described above, the spherical body 4 has the concave space 3 between the lid body 8 and the inclined surface 3a.
b, and the tilt detection sensor itself is substantially parallel to the reference plane (the plane perpendicular to the direction of gravity), that is, the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1 with respect to the reference plane. When they are substantially parallel to each other, they are stationary at the reference position of the lowermost end of the inclined surface (that is, substantially the center in the longitudinal direction).

Further, windows 3c are formed in an opening shape on both wall surfaces of the recessed space 3b, and light from the light emitting element 5 can be transmitted toward the light receiving element 6 through the windows 3c. There is. The operation of the tilt detection sensor configured as described above will be described by taking as an example the case where the tilt detection sensor is mounted or fixed on an object (object to be detected) whose tilt is to be detected.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the object 10 to be detected here has a mounting substrate 9, and the mounting surface of this mounting substrate 9 is a reference surface (a surface perpendicular to the direction of gravity) p. It is placed on the reference plane p so as to be substantially parallel to. Also,
The tilt detection sensor S is mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting substrate 9. In this state, the detected object 10 is placed on a flat surface in a stable state, and when the inclination angle with respect to the reference plane p is smaller than the inclination angle θ of the inclined surface, the spherical body 4
Stands still at the reference position, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is blocked by the sphere 4 existing at the reference position, and the light is not transmitted to the light receiving element.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the object 10 to be detected becomes unstable in its mounting state and tilts with respect to the reference plane p, and its tilt angle becomes larger than the tilt angle θ. At this time, the sphere 4 moves on the inclined surface 3a and moves away from the reference position, and the light from the light emitting element is transmitted to the light receiving element. The tilt detection sensor of the present invention detects the tilt of the detected object 10 by utilizing the light reception of the light receiving element accompanying the movement of the spherical body 4 as described above.

Here, in the tilt detecting sensor S, a portion of the lead terminal 2 substantially parallel to the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1 is applied in advance on a wiring pattern (not shown) of the mounting substrate 9. It is mounted via a solder paste (not shown), and in this state, it is mounted by reflow soldering such as melting and mounting the solder in a high temperature heating furnace.

As described above, in the tilt detecting sensor, the step of inserting the lead terminal into the through hole formed in the mounting board to mount the same as in the conventional case is eliminated, so that the lead terminal is bent due to the insertion failure. Along with the deformation, the occurrence of defects such as mounting in an inclined state with respect to the mounting surface of the mounting substrate 9 is significantly reduced.
Moreover, if the inclination detection sensor S is mounted in a state of being inclined with respect to the mounting surface as in the above-described conventional case, the inclination angle that should be detected is not yet detected or the inclination angle that should be detected. It may be detected at a smaller tilt angle. However, since the tilt detection sensor of the present invention is mounted while stably maintaining a substantially horizontal state with respect to the mounting surface of the mounting board 9, the tilt angle detection accuracy is good. Improving such detection accuracy is very important for the tilt detection sensor.

The tilt detecting sensor can be mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting board 9 by soldering or the like. If a wiring pattern for the tilt detecting sensor is formed on the mounting surface side. Good. Especially, in recent years, when the electronic components are becoming surface mounting type, if all the mounting electronic components on the mounting substrate 9 are surface mounting type, the wiring pattern may be formed only on one surface of the mounting substrate 9, This production cost can be significantly reduced.

Further, since the tip portion of the lead terminal 2 of this tilt detecting sensor extends along the lower portion of the side surface, the tilt detecting sensor is arranged on the wiring pattern of the mounting substrate 9 as shown in FIG. After mounting, it is also possible to carry out so-called retrofitting, in which the conductive paste 11 such as solder is applied to the extended portion of the lead terminal 2.

The tilt detecting sensor having the above structure can be manufactured, for example, by the following method. In this method, two light-transmissive resin bodies 7 formed by previously embedding the light-emitting element 5 and the light-receiving element 6 individually by a conventional resin sealing method are integrally formed into the non-translucent resin body 1. A first step of covering with the opaque resin body 1, a second step of housing the spherical body 4 in the recessed space 3b of the opaque resin body 1, and mounting the lid body 8 on the opaque resin body 1 so as to cover the spherical body 4. The third step of forming the lead terminal 2 protruding from the non-transparent resin body 1 into a desired shape.

In the first step, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the fixed lower mold 12 and the left and right middle molds 1 are fixed.
A resin molding die including 3, 14 and the upper die 15 is used. The non-translucent resin body 1 is molded by filling a molten liquid crystal polymer resin in the space defined by these molds.

To define this space, first, in the recess 12a formed in the lower mold 12, the translucent resin body 7 in which the light emitting element 5 is embedded so that one end of the lead terminal 2 projects in advance. Is placed on the upper surface of the lower mold 12 so as to be accommodated in the lower mold 12, and then the middle molds 13 and 14 are moved toward each other by expansion and contraction of a pneumatic cylinder (not shown), and the light transmission on the light receiving element 6 side is performed. After placing the conductive resin body 7 on both of the middle dies 13 and 14 so that the light receiving element 6 faces the light emitting element 5, the upper die 15 is directed toward the lower die 12. It is defined by moving it down.

Next, in the second step, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the spheres 4 which are fed out from the parts feeder (not shown) in an aligned state are separated one by one, and the opaque resin is separated. Stored in the recessed space 3b of the body 1, then the lid 8
Is attached to the opaque resin body 1 so as to cover the recess space 3b. This mounting is performed by fitting the lid body 8 into the groove portion 1a formed on the upper surface of the opaque resin body 1.

Further, in the third step, the lead terminals are formed using a cylindrical roller. First, FIG.
As shown in (c), two rollers 16 are lifted from below the opaque resin body 1 and inserted between the lead terminals 2, and then they are separated from each other in the horizontal direction (direction of arrow in the figure). ), The lead terminal 2 is bent so as to be substantially parallel to the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1. Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the roller 16 is raised to bend the lead terminal 2 along the side surface of the opaque resin body 1 to obtain a desired shape. The roller 16 moves by a method using a cam mechanism (not shown) which has been conventionally used. Further, at the time of this forming, the opaque resin body 1 is supported by a support body (not shown).

In the above embodiment, the lead terminal 2 projects from the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
May have a structure protruding from the side surface of the opaque resin body 1. This structure is, for example, as shown in FIG.
The lead terminal 2 is bent in the opaque resin body 1 so as to be directed to the side surface direction, or is provided in advance along the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1 as shown in FIG. Then, the opaque resin body 1 is projected from the side surface. In the latter case (FIG. 5B), the translucent resin body 7 is provided with the reflecting portion 7a made of a resin material such as white epoxy resin so that the light from the light emitting element 5 is directed to the light receiving element 6. A reflective structure can be used. Alternatively, the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 5 may be die-bonded with the light emitting surface facing the light receiving element 6. This structure
An insulating paste resin (as an adhesive agent) is provided between adjacent lead terminals, the side surface of the light emitting element is placed on the paste resin, and the P layer of the light emitting element and one lead terminal,
The N layer and the other lead terminal are connected by a conductive resin such as solder.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lead terminal 2 is extended along the side surface and the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1, but the inclination detection sensor of the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the lead terminal 2 may be bent from the side surface of the opaque resin body 1 and bent in a crank shape. It suffices if it extends substantially parallel to the lower surface of the translucent resin body 1.

Furthermore, in order to carry out the after-soldering described in the above embodiment (shown in FIG. 3), the lead terminal is projected from the side surface of the opaque resin body 1 and bent so as to be substantially parallel to this side surface. It is not necessary to have a portion that extends in substantially parallel to the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1 in the above-described shape. Further, in this embodiment, the light emitting element and the light receiving element are provided so as to sandwich the inclined surface (at a position facing the inclined surface).
The inclination detection sensor of the present invention is not limited to this, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element are arranged below the inclined surface,
The structure may be such that the light from the light emitting element is reflected by the sphere, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element.

In addition, in the tilt detection sensor of this embodiment, the protruding lead terminal 2 is extended to the side surface of the opaque resin body 1. However, as shown in FIG. The protruding lead terminal 2 may be bent and extended so as to be substantially parallel to the lower surface of the opaque resin body 1. Further, in the tilt detection sensor of the present invention, when a cylindrical protrusion is provided on the lower surface of the sensor, the protrusion is fitted into a through hole formed in the mounting substrate to perform positioning with respect to the mounting substrate. At the same time, the inclination of the mounting substrate with respect to the mounting surface can be corrected to be substantially horizontal, so that the inclination detection accuracy is further improved.

Needless to say, the same effect as described above can be obtained even if the above-mentioned protrusions are provided on the mounting substrate side and grooves such as through holes are provided on the sensor side. Further, in this embodiment, the inclined surface is formed along one direction, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be an inverted conical shape or the like.

[0030]

As described in detail above, according to the inclination detecting sensor of the present invention, it is possible to provide a detecting sensor having a simple structure and capable of detecting the inclination of the object to be detected more accurately and surely. You can Further, for example, when the inclination detection sensor of the present invention is mounted on a mounting board, it can be soldered in a state of being mounted on the mounting board, and therefore can be mounted with almost no inclination with respect to the mounting surface.
For this reason, the inclination detection accuracy of the object to be detected becomes very good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a tilt detection sensor of the present invention,
(A) is a perspective view, (b) is a sectional view taken along line AA, and (c) is a sectional view taken along line BB.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a usage state of a tilt detection sensor.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a mounting state of the tilt detection sensor on a mounting board.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the tilt detection sensor.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a modified example of the tilt detection sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a modified example of the tilt detection sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional inclination detection sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Non-translucent resin body 2 Lead terminal 3a Inclined surface 3b Recessed space 4 Sphere 5 Light emitting element 6 Light receiving element 7 Translucent resin body 8 Lid 9 Mounting board

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A light-emitting element embedded in one of the translucent resin bodies facing each other, a light-receiving element embedded in the other of the translucent resin bodies, and the translucent resin body facing each other. A light-transmissive resin body integrally covered to form a slanted surface, a sphere movable along the slanted surface, and the light-transmissive so as to cover the sphere on the slanted surface. A lid mounted on a resin body, and an inclination detection sensor comprising: one end portion electrically connected to one of the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the other end portion of the translucent resin body. One electrode and an electrode terminal protruding from the opaque resin body via the opaque resin body, and a part of the protruding electrode terminal is extended along the lower surface of the opaque resin body. The tilt detection sensor is characterized by being. 2. A light-emitting element embedded in one of the translucent resin bodies facing each other, a light-receiving element embedded in the other of the translucent resin bodies, and the translucent resin body facing each other. A light-transmissive resin body integrally covered to form a slanted surface, a sphere movable along the slanted surface, and the light-transmissive so as to cover the sphere on the slanted surface. A lid mounted on a resin body, and an inclination detection sensor comprising: one end portion electrically connected to one of the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the other end portion of the translucent resin body. One side and an opaque resin body, and an electrode terminal projecting from the opaque resin body are provided, and a part of the projected electrode terminal extends along the lower side surface of the opaque resin body. An inclination detection sensor characterized by being provided. 3. The sphere is stationary at a reference position on the inclined surface when the lower surface of the opaque resin body is substantially parallel to the reference surface. The tilt detection sensor according to claim 2.