Optical High-precision 4-direction Sensor – Silent Operation in the Industry’s Thinnest Package

ROHM has developed the RPI-1040, an optical surface-mount 4-direction sensor with a profile 67% thinner than current models. The new sensor detects up, down, left, and right movement in 90° intervals using in-house made infrared LED, 2 phototransistors, and light blocking mechanism. Simple and instantaneous gravity direction detection is enabled, linked to the movement of the device. In addition, a novel architecture is utilized to ensure silent operation, eliminating the need for soundproofing, thus increasing the design flexibility.

The RPI-1040 sets a milestone in SMD Tilt sensor thickness by achieving a profile of just 0.8 mm – the world’s thinnest – making it not only ideally compatible with digital cameras, digital photo frames, and portable TVs, but mobile phones and increasingly compact next-generation devices as well.

RPI-1040 super small SMD tilt sensor is the perfect cost-efficient alternative vs. costly MEMS accelerometers, if there is a need to detect the direction of gravity in a device, but not the magnitude of this force.

Optical sensors are not susceptible to neither vibration nor magnetic fields, making them superior to mechanical and magnetic 4-way sensors and the preferred choice in portable devices.

Application example: Automatic picture format adjustment on the display, if a portable device is rotated between the portrait and landscape orientations. E.g. Photo Frames, Projectors, PNAs, PDAs, Digital Cameras, Mobile Phones and more.