Force detector
First Claim
1. A force detector having a function for detecting a strength of an applied external force, comprising:
- a substrate;
an elastic deformable body which is disposed at a position opposed to the substrate, at least a portion of said elastic deformable body being made of material having elastic deformability, and said elastic deformable body displacing with respect to the substrate due to an elastic deformation caused by the applied external force;
a force detecting element disposed between said substrate and said elastic deformable body, and changes in a predetermined electrical characteristic due to a displacement of said elastic deformable body; and
a switching element including a pair of contacting electrodes and carrying out a switching function so that an electrical insulated condition is normally maintained between said pair of contacting electrodes, and when an external force with more than a predetermined strength is applied to said elastic deformable body, an electrical conductive condition is obtained between said pair of contacting electrodes in response to a deformation of said elastic deformable body;
wherein an electrical characteristic of said force detecting element is detected as an electric signal, when an electrical conductive condition is obtained on said pairs of contacting electrodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a force detector in which power consumption is suppressed. Four electrodes E11 through E14 are formed on a substrate, and an elastic deformable body formed of a rubber film is disposed thereon. A conductive coating is applied on the lower surface of the elastic deformable body to provide a displacing conductive layer 26. Four capacitance elements C11 through C14 are comprised by the electrodes E11 through E14 and the displacing conductive layer 26 opposed to the electrodes. The capacitance values thereof are converted into voltage values V11 through V14 by C/V converter circuit 50, and based on operation by signal processing circuit 60, an external force applied to the elastic deformable body is detected. A pair of contacting electrodes E15 and E16 are formed on the substrate, and when an external force with a predetermined strength or more is applied, the elastic deformable body deforms, and the displacing conductive layer 26 comes into contact with both electrodes E15 and E16, simultaneously. The potential of the electrode E16 is taken-in from the terminal T5, and when said potential is Vcc, the C/V converter circuit 50 is operated in a standby mode with less power consumption, and when said potential is GND, the circuit is operated in a normal mode.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A force detector having a function for detecting a strength of an applied external force, comprising:
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a substrate;
an elastic deformable body which is disposed at a position opposed to the substrate, at least a portion of said elastic deformable body being made of material having elastic deformability, and said elastic deformable body displacing with respect to the substrate due to an elastic deformation caused by the applied external force;
a force detecting element disposed between said substrate and said elastic deformable body, and changes in a predetermined electrical characteristic due to a displacement of said elastic deformable body; and
a switching element including a pair of contacting electrodes and carrying out a switching function so that an electrical insulated condition is normally maintained between said pair of contacting electrodes, and when an external force with more than a predetermined strength is applied to said elastic deformable body, an electrical conductive condition is obtained between said pair of contacting electrodes in response to a deformation of said elastic deformable body;
wherein an electrical characteristic of said force detecting element is detected as an electric signal, when an electrical conductive condition is obtained on said pairs of contacting electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A force detector having a function for detecting a strength of an applied external force, comprising:
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a substrate, an upper surface of said substrate being included in an XY-plane of an XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system having an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis;
an elastic deformable body which is disposed at a position opposed to the substrate, at least a portion of said elastic deformable body being made of material having elastic deformability, and said elastic deformable body displacing with respect to the substrate due to an elastic deformation caused by the applied external force;
a first force detecting element disposed between said substrate and said elastic deformable body at a position on an X-axis positive region and changes in a predetermined electrical characteristic due to a displacement of said elastic deformable body;
a first switching element located at a position outside of said first force detecting element on said X-axis positive region, said first switching element including a first pair of contacting electrodes and carrying out a switching function so that an electrical insulated condition is normally maintained between said first pair of contacting electrodes, and when an external force with more than a predetermined strength with respect to said X-axis positive region is applied to said elastic deformable body, an electrical conductive condition is obtained between said first pair of contacting electrodes in response to a deformation of said elastic deformable body;
a second force detecting element disposed between said substrate and said elastic deformable body at a position on an X-axis negative region and changes in a predetermined electrical characteristic due to a displacement of said elastic deformable body; and
a second switching element located at a position outside of said second force detecting element on said X-axis negative region, said second switching element including a second pair of contacting electrodes and carrying out a switching function so that an electrical insulated condition is normally maintained between said second pair of contacting electrodes, and when an external force with more than a predetermined strength with respect to said X-axis negative region is applied to said elastic deformable body, an electrical conductive condition is obtained between said second pair of contacting electrodes in response to a deformation of said elastic deformable body;
wherein an electrical characteristic of said first and second force detecting elements is detected as an electric signal, when an electrical conductive condition is obtained on at least one of said first and second pairs of contacting electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification