Sony patents magnetic sensor array for decoding systems
Sony describes a device that uses a grid of tiny sensors to detect magnetic fields. Each sensor changes its electrical resistance when exposed to a magnet, allowing the system to read magnetic data.
In the filing’s own words
There is provided a magnetic detection device including a pixel array unit configured by pixel units including a magnetoresistive element and a detection unit being arranged in an array or configured by a basic array including a plurality of the pixel units being arranged in an array. The magnetoresistive element includes a fixed layer having a fixed magnetization direction, a nonmagnetic layer disposed on the fixed layer, and a storage layer disposed on the nonmagnetic layer. The detection unit detects an external magnetic field based on a change in a resistance value of the magnetoresistive element.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A magnetic detection device comprising a pixel array unit configured by pixel units including a magnetoresistive element and a detection unit being arranged in an array or configured by a basic array including a plurality of the pixel units being arranged in an array, wherein the magnetoresistive element includes: a fixed layer having a fixed magnetization direction; a nonmagnetic layer disposed on the fixed layer; and a storage layer disposed on the nonmagnetic layer, and the detection unit detects an external magnetic field based on a change in a resistance value of the magnetoresistive element.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- Official title
- MAGNETIC DETECTION DEVICE AND DECODING SYSTEM
- Publication number
- US20260272355A1
- Application number
- 19126714
- Filed
- Nov 1, 2023
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 23
Classified under
A61B 5/246 Human necessitiesA61B 5/243 Human necessitiesA61B 5/7278 Human necessitiesA61B 2562/0223 Human necessitiesA61B 2562/046 Human necessitiesMore from Sony in Chips & hardware
- Sony patents light sensor that adjusts how it counts incoming photons Sep 1, 2026
- Sony patents camera sensor with two pixel types for better motion detection Sep 1, 2026
- Sony patents game graphics that adjust quality based on hardware heat Sep 8, 2026
- Sony patents camera sensor design that stacks chips to shrink pixels Sep 8, 2026
- Sony patents chip design that measures internal temperature from outside Sep 8, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.