I am looking for a simple small cheap sensor that will recognize when it is flipped upside down. ie i want to put it in a cell phone so when I turn the phone over the screen knows to flip because of the sensor.
does anyone know what type of sensor that is called and where i could possibly find one?
The mercury switch used to be the simple solution for this. If you can't buy one new, maybe you could salvage one by upgrading an old home thermostat? I once had a simon-like toy that used a ball bearing to detect which of 6 areas was up. Never opened it to see whether it pressed normal pushbuttons or just shorted exposed contacts...
Here's another variant:
You could use a tilt sensor. But be careful, some of them use a small metal ball that may rattle if someone shakes the phone.
Or you could use an acceloremeter. They can detect if gravity is pulling in the "wrong" direction.
Before you spend too much time trying to figure out how to flip the screen, you should think about why you are flipping it. It seems like bad UI design to me. If someone is using their phone while lying in bed or whatever, they may find it quite annoying if the screen suddenly flips upside down.
If you're a hobbyist, see this:
Non Mercury Tilt Switch SPST Open-Closed Dependent upon tilt angle 5A @ 24V AC.
If you're designing a cell phone, you want a surface-mount part, which you should be able to find yourself.
John Nagle
You probably want a 3 axes accelerometer.
-- Randy M Dumse.
Yes, you can use an accelerometer, but it might be a lower cost option to use a light sensor, e.g. a photodiode. I used this sucessfully on a recent camera that I designed. The prototype camera would power off when placed on a table and so extend battery life. Lyndsay Williams
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