US 12,265,040 B2
Sensor device
Takuya Ichihara, Tokyo (JP); Norihito Mihota, Saitama (JP); Atsushi Yamada, Kanagawa (JP); Sachio Iida, Chiba (JP); Takahiro Oishi, Kangawa (JP); and Minoru Ishida, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to Sony Group Corporation, Tokyo (JP); and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, Kanagawa (JP)
Appl. No. 18/251,895
Filed by SONY GROUP CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP); and SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, Kanagawa (JP)
PCT Filed Nov. 8, 2021, PCT No. PCT/JP2021/040925
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 5, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/102555, PCT Pub. Date May 19, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-188862 (JP), filed on Nov. 12, 2020; and application No. 2021-178680 (JP), filed on Nov. 1, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0011924 A1, Jan. 11, 2024
Int. Cl. G01N 22/04 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 22/04 (2013.01) 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sensor device comprising: a transmission antenna that sends a signal as an electromagnetic wave; a reception antenna that receives the electromagnetic wave sent from the transmission antenna and transmitted through a medium; a measurement section that measures the electromagnetic wave propagated to the reception antenna; and a sensor casing,
the sensor device further comprising
a transmission substrate that is an electronic substrate including a plurality of wiring layers and a reception substrate that is an electronic substrate including a plurality of wiring layers, or
a first covering layer that partially covers an outer periphery of the transmission substrate and is formed of an electromagnetic wave absorption material and a second covering layer that partially covers an outer periphery of the reception substrate and is formed of an electromagnetic wave absorption material,
wherein the sensor casing includes a transmission probe casing that is a part of the sensor casing and accommodates the transmission substrate and a reception probe casing that is another part of the sensor casing and accommodates the reception substrate,
the transmission substrate includes a transmission path for transmission and a transmission exposure section that configures a part of the transmission antenna,
the transmission path for transmission is formed using the wiring layers included in the transmission substrate, includes a first shield layer and a first signal line in a superimposed manner, and is electrically connected to the measurement section,
the transmission exposure section is a conductor that is formed using the wiring layers included in the transmission substrate, is electrically connected to the first signal line, and is exposed from the first shield layer or the first covering layer,
the reception substrate includes a transmission path for reception and a reception exposure section that configures a part of the reception antenna,
the transmission path for reception is formed using the wiring layers included in the reception substrate, includes a second shield layer and a second signal line in a superimposed manner, and is electrically connected to the measurement section,
the reception exposure section is a conductor that is formed using the wiring layers included in the reception substrate, is electrically connected to the second signal line, and is exposed from the second shield layer or the second covering layer,
each of the transmission exposure section and the reception exposure section has a larger size both in a second direction and in a third direction than in a first direction and extends parallel with a plane defined by the second direction and the third direction, the first direction being a direction of the superimposition, the second direction being a direction that is orthogonal to the first direction and is parallel with an extending direction of the transmission path, the third direction orthogonal to the first and second directions, and
the transmission path for transmission and the transmission exposure section formed using the wiring layers included in the transmission substrate and the transmission path for reception and the reception exposure section formed using the wiring layers included in the reception substrate are disposed to face each other such that an extending direction of the plane of the transmission exposure section and an extending direction of the plane of the reception exposure section are parallel with each other, and are disposed at positions separated from each other by a predetermined distance, with the extending directions and the positions fixed in the sensor casing.