The New Barometric Pressure Sensor Can Monitor The Tire Pressure?

According to foreign media reports, a group of mechanical engineers from Binghamton University (State University of New York) in the State University System of New York in the United States studied a revolutionary micro switch, and found another application of the micro switch. After discovering that a new MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) can achieve better control functions, researchers build a pressure sensor with this knowledge, which is conducive to improving the performance of many daily equipments.

 

Shahrzad‘Sherry’Towfighian is associate professor and principal researcher of Mechanical Engineering Department of Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Binghamton University. He said, ‘This mechanism is the same as the mechanism we used to design equipment in the past, but it is only applied differently. The traditional sensor has two electrodes. The core of this sensor is composed of four electrodes, which can make us better adjust the properties of the system.’

 

The MEMS is a kind of micro equipment with moving parts, and it is produced by the way of producing electronic equipment. One of the advantages of the MEMS is that it has independent design and does not need to analyze the reading with a computer, so that the response time is faster and more reliable.

 

‘The device is not only able to sense pressure, it can also trigger switches,’ said Towfighian. In general, the sensor needs to sense the pressure, process it through software to determine whether the appropriate conditions are met, and then trigger the switch. The device is a compact type pressure sensor and switch that allows one of the electrodes to operate under different pressure conditions by sending it a voltage.‘

 

Like all MEMS switches currently designed by Binghamton University, the new product can be applied for a variety of purposes, such as measuring air pressure, monitoring the oxygen content of premature infants in hospitals or testing the tire pressure of vehicles. As an important part of automobile, the main factor of tire performance is tire pressure. Too low or too high tire pressure will affect tire performance and reduce its service life, and ultimately affect driving safety.

 

TPMS is the abbreviation of‘tire pressure monitoring system’. The function of TPMS is to monitor tire pressure automatically in real time during the driving process, and to alarm tire leakage and low pressure to ensure driving safety.

 

‘Sometimes, it is very important to detect the pressure threshold. For example, when passengers are on fly, they hope that the mask can fall when the air pressure drops below a certain level. In addition, the detection of pressure threshold can make it very easy to set the auto triggered bias voltage,’said Towfighian. 

 

Towfighian added that the switch, which is built with four electrodes, means it has a longer service life. ‘Current devices often have a problem with limited life because there are only two electrodes. And our other two electrodes can make the device more durable and increase its service life.‘

 

It is believed that in the near future, the new air pressure sensor will bring performance improvement to more products and bring more new technology experience to people.