Directional force sensing element and system
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for measuring a directional force, the apparatus comprising:
- a leaf spring;
one or more load sensors disposed or said leaf spring such that in response to a force applied to said leaf spring, said one or more load sensors provide a signal at an output thereof; and
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to receive signals from said one or more load sensors wherein a digital output of each channel of the ADC is employed to determine a magnitude and a direction of a force applied to the directional force sensor; and
wherein said leaf spring is provided as a wave washer having an undulating surface and said one or more load sensors are disposed on said wave washer so as to form a directional force sensor.
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Abstract
A directional force sensor and sensing system are described. The directional force sensor includes a leaf spring and one or more load sensors disposed about the leaf spring such that in response to a force applied to the leaf spring, the one or more load sensors provide a signal. A controller is coupled to receive signals from the one or more directional force sensors and determines characteristics of forces applied to the directional force sensors.
45 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring a directional force, the apparatus comprising:
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a leaf spring; one or more load sensors disposed or said leaf spring such that in response to a force applied to said leaf spring, said one or more load sensors provide a signal at an output thereof; and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to receive signals from said one or more load sensors wherein a digital output of each channel of the ADC is employed to determine a magnitude and a direction of a force applied to the directional force sensor; and wherein said leaf spring is provided as a wave washer having an undulating surface and said one or more load sensors are disposed on said wave washer so as to form a directional force sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a directional force sensor comprising; a leaf spring wherein said leaf spring is provided as a wave washer having an undulating surface; one or more load sensors disposed on said wave washer so as to form a directional force sensor such that in response to a force applied to said wave washer, said one or more load sensors provide a signal at an output thereof; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to receive signals from the one or more load sensors of each of said one or more directional force sensors; and a controller coupled to said one or more directional force sensors. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification