A system for detecting characteristics of a fluid includes a sonic sensor. The sonic sensor includes a transducer, a transduction surface, and an acoustically reflective pad member. The transducer may be contained within a probe body, and the transduction surface may be an element of the probe body. A stem may connect the pad member to the transduction surface. The transducer will generate pulses that are transmitted to the pad member via a fluid when the transduction surface and pad member are immersed in the fluid. The system will detect the pulses when reflected and use that data to determine a speed of sound within the fluid. The system may use the speed of sound to determine density, specific gravity and/or stiffness of the fluid. The system may use that determination to assess a level of processing activity of the fluid, such as fermentation activity.

Systems and methods are provided for monitoring the structural integrity of a vehicle. In particular, systems and methods are provided for using transducers positioned at various location in and on a vehicle to measure parameters related vehicle structural health. In various implementations, the integrity of the vehicle frame and the integrity of the vehicle body are monitored using a multi-axis accelerometer and/or microphone. The use of transducers for monitoring can replace time-consuming and expensive manual inspections.

A device for determining and/or monitoring a process variable of a medium includes a sensor unit having a mechanically oscillatable unit, a first piezoelectric element, a unit for determining and/or monitoring a temperature of the medium and an electronic system. The device is designed to excite the mechanically oscillatable unit and to receive the mechanical oscillations of the oscillatable unit, to convert them into a first receiving signal, to emit a transmission signal and to receive a second receiving signal, wherein the electronic system is designed to determine the process variable based on the first and/or second receiving signal. The unit for determining and/or monitoring the temperature includes a first and a second temperature sensor arranged at a distance from one another, and the electronic system is designed to determine the temperature of the medium based on a first and/or second temperature receiving signal.

A sensor device (1) comprises a piezoelectric transducer (3) and a base member (2). The piezoelectric transducer includes a piezoelectric member with at least one excitation electrode (37, 38) connected to a first face thereof and having a thickness (h) between the first face and a second face. The piezoelectric transducer (3) is attached to a supporting face of the base member (2) with the second face of the piezoelectric transducer positioned adjacent the supporting face of the base member. The base member includes at least one acoustic wave reflecting tag (21) distant from the piezoelectric member.

The present invention relates to a liquid information sensor comprises at least more than one electrode set including a first electrode, and a second electrode which is disposed spaced apart from the first electrode and to which an alternating current signal is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode; and a ferroelectric layer including a first side in contact with the first electrode and the second electrode and a second side facing the first side and defining a receiving area for receiving the target liquid, and generating sound waves by physical vibration when the AC signal is applied.

An ultrasonic sensing device includes a housing, a piezoelectric assembly, a board and a plurality of fixing members. The housing includes a connecting board being a metal board and a supporting shell being a plastic member. The supporting shell includes a bottom wall opposite to a disposing opening of the connecting board and a surrounding side wall integrally surrounding and connecting to the bottom wall. The surrounding side wall encloses a portion of the connecting board. The piezoelectric assembly includes an encapsulating body and a piezoelectric sheet enclosed by the encapsulating body. The encapsulating body is disposed on the bottom wall and surrounded by the surrounding side wall. The piezoelectric sheet has a sensing surface exposed to the encapsulating body and facing the bottom wall. The fixing members fix the board on the connecting board, thereby pressing the sensing surface of the piezoelectric sheet to the bottom wall.

Methods of performing a plurality of operations within a region of a part utilizing an end effector of a robot and robots that perform the methods are disclosed herein. The methods include collecting a spatial representation of the part and aligning a predetermined raster scan pattern for movement of the end effector relative to the part with the spatial representation of the part. The methods also include defining a plurality of normality vectors for the part at a plurality of predetermined operation locations for operation of the end effector. The methods further include moving the end effector relative to the part and along the predetermined raster scan pattern. The methods also include orienting the end effector such that an operation device of the end effector faces toward each operation location along a corresponding normality vector and executing a corresponding operation of the plurality of operations with the operation device.

A sensor includes a first element part having a first member and a first element. The first member is a acoustic tubular waveguide and extends along a first direction. The acoustic tubular waveguide includes a first opening and a second opening. A direction from the second opening toward the first opening is along the first direction. The first element includes a vibratile first membrane, and a first supporter supporting the first membrane. The second opening is between the first opening and the first membrane in the first direction. The sensor may be a Piezoelectric Micro electro mechanical systems Ultrasonic Transducer and may be used for inspecting paper and/or resin including detecting thickness of a fed through banknote and/or the presence of foreign matter thereon such as tape. An optical element may alternatively measure the vibration of a membrane from acoustic through transmission instead of an acoustic receiver.

A piezoelectric actuator includes: a vibrating plate including a first surface configured to close an opening provided in a substrate and also including a second surface including a plurality of piezoelectric elements; a suppressing portion configured to suppress vibration of the vibrating plate; and a plurality of walls sticking out into the opening from the first surface, in which, when an active portion of a piezoelectric element is set as a portion where a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode overlap, the walls are provided between adjacent active portions in plan view from a direction in which the first electrode, the piezoelectric layer, and the second electrode are stacked, and a distance between adjacent walls is longer than a distance between adjacent active portions in a plane perpendicular to the stacking direction.

A concentration measuring instrument includes a piezoelectric vibrator transmitting an ultrasonic wave into a solution contained in a cavity and detecting the ultrasonic wave reflected, a temperature sensor measuring a temperature of the solution, a drive circuit generating a drive signal driving the piezoelectric vibrator, a phase comparator performing a phase comparison between the drive signal and a detection signal, a frequency setting circuit making the drive circuit generate drive signals having sequentially different frequencies and monitoring a phase comparison result to detect a resonant frequency, and a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit making a frequency of the drive signal follow the detected resonant frequency. A microcomputer determines a concentration of a solute in the solution on a basis of the frequency of the drive signal while the PLL circuit is being operated and a result of a temperature measurement by the temperature sensor.