| US 7,526,870 B2 | ||
| Inclination sensor | ||
| Franz Klapper, Saalburg-Ebersdorf (Germany); Herbert Rink, Goettingen (Germany); and Gerd Freydank, Goettingen (Germany) | ||
| Assigned to Sartorious AG, Goettingen (Germany) | ||
| Filed on May 15, 2008, as Appl. No. 12/120,890. | ||
| Application 12/120890 is a continuation of application No. PCT/DE2006/002015, filed on Nov. 17, 2006. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 10 2005 056 120 (DE), filed on Nov. 23, 2005; and application No. 10 2005 056 736 (DE), filed on Nov. 29, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0235966 A1, Oct. 02, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01C 9/06 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 33—366.23 [33/366.11; 33/366.16] | 18 Claims |
| 1. An inclination sensor comprising:
a spirit level that has a liquid and a gas bubble under a cover glass in a housing;
a light source arranged above the cover glass; and
at least two photodetectors arranged above the cover glass for detecting light emitted by the light source, the light source
and the photodectors being arranged on a chip substrate,
wherein, when the gas bubble is centered, the light is substantially completely reflected at the gas bubble and the light
is thereby detected by the at least two photodetectors, and
wherein, when the gas bubble is off-center, different quantities of light are detected by the photodetectors.
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