Product News - Optoelectronics

Industry’s first battery driven distance measurement

Hamburg, May 3, 2007 - Sharp expands its portfolio of Distance Measuring Sensors by two highly reliable, compact sized sensors especially designed for battery-powered applications with main focus on automated sanitary equipment whereas power supply is either not available or applicable for safety reasons. These two new devices are suitable to control e.g. water and product use, and contribute to the user friendliness of touch less sanitary fixtures such as soap dispensers, faucets and paper towel dispensers.

Both sensors (GP2Y0D805Z0F and GP2Y0D810Z0F) are equipped with the industry’s first external STANDBY pin that cuts, when activated, power consumption down to 5 µA (TYP.). At an average faucet use this feature enables an extended battery lifetime up to more than 5 years. The pin allows the fixture to limit the number of hours the device remains “on”. Supported supply voltage are 2.7V to 6.2V, making them ideal for battery-powered applications. The compact size of 13.6 x 7.95 x 7.0 mm enables easy integration and optimized board space usage in size limited applications. The sensors come in two popular sensing distances, 5 cm and 10 cm.

These new Distance Measuring Sensors offer accuracy, longevity, and simple design-in, plus cost less than previously used sensors. The integration of sensor and detector in one unit eliminates component drift caused by temperature changes and ageing, and provides extremely high component reliability compared to a discrete solution. Sharp’s sensors rely on the principle of triangulation instead of reading the intensity of reflected light, so sensing is consistently accurate, regardless of sensed object colour.

Greatly Simplified Engineering

Sharp’s Distance Measuring Sensors feature special miniaturised packaging that combines both the emitter and detector in one simple device. Mechanical engineering is simplified because the devices are pre-focused to 5 cm and 10 cm respectively. Detection is not based upon the intensity of returned light, but rather geometry, resulting in robust performance that is independent of the sensed object’s reflectivity. The 4 degree average emission angle yields high sense accuracy since the tighter the emission beam angle, the more accurate the performance. Electronic engineering becomes much simpler without estimating degradation of the Emitter and Detector over time, and the trigger distance won’t drift with degradation, as with intensity-based sensing.

“Our two new Distance Measuring Sensors let designers create automatic fixtures with both aesthetic appeal and simple operation,” said Andreas Biss, Optoelectronics Product Manager for Sharp Microelectronics Europe. “Sharp’s Optoelectronics leadership and innovations give engineers the assurance of highly reliable sensors and greater design flexibility at a good price.”

Specifications

Fully RoHS compliant samples of GP2Y0D805Z0F und GP2Y0D810Z0F are available via Sharp Sales Offices and distribution partners.

About Sharp Microelectronics Europe

Sharp Microelectronics Europe, Hamburg, Germany, is a divisional company of Sharp Electronics (Europe) GmbH, which is a subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan. Sharp is a worldwide developer of core digital technologies that are playing an integral role in shaping the next generation of electronic products for consumer and business needs. Sharp Microelectronics Europe offers groundbreaking solutions in the areas of memory products, LCD, Opto Components, CCD, RF/IR, IC and LSI components, along with packaging and integration skills that help design engineers throughout Europe to bring their ambitious ideas to market. Sharp Microelectronics Europe is dedicated to improving people’s lives through the use of advanced technology and a commitment to innovation, quality, value and design.
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responsible:
Sharp Microelectronics Europe     
Ralf Schäfer
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