Capacitive sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A capacitive sensor comprising:
- a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a first plate in said cavity;
a first diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said first plate;
a first conductive layer on said first diaphragm; and
a second conductive layer on said first plate, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said first diaphragm relative to said first plate.
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Abstract
A capacitive sensor including a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity, a plate in the cavity, a diaphragm forming a part of the cavity and spaced from the plate, a conductive layer on the first diaphragm, and a second conductive layer on the plate, the first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of the diaphragm relative to the plate.
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Citations
102 Claims
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1. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a first plate in said cavity;
a first diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said first plate;
a first conductive layer on said first diaphragm; and
a second conductive layer on said first plate, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said first diaphragm relative to said first plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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85. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plate in said cavity;
a conductive diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plate; and
a conductive layer on said plate, said conductive diaphragm and conductive layer on said plate being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said conductive diaphragm relative to said plate.
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86. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a conductive plate in said cavity;
a diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said conductive plate; and
a conductive layer on said diaphragm, said conductive layer on said diaphragm and said conductive plate being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said plate.
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87. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a conductive plate in said cavity; and
a conductive diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said conductive plate;
said conductive diaphragm and said conductive plate being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said plate.
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88. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plate in said cavity;
a diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plate;
a first conductive layer on said diaphragm; and
a second conductive layer on said plate, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said plate in response to an external force.
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89. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plurality of plates in said cavity;
a diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plurality of plates;
a first conductive layer on said diaphragm; and
one or more second conductive layers on said plurality of plates, said first conductive layer and said one or more second conductive layers being the electrodes of one or more capacitors whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said one or more of said plates.
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90. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plate in said cavity;
a plurality of diaphragms forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plate;
one or more first conductive layers on said plurality of diaphragms; and
one or more second conductive layers on said plate, said one or more first conductive layers and said second conductive layers being the electrodes of one or more capacitors whose capacitance varies with the position of said plurality of diaphragms relative to said plate.
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91. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plurality of plates in said cavity;
a plurality of diaphragms forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plurality of plates;
one or more first conductive layers on said plurality of diaphragms; and
one or more second conductive layers on said plurality of plates, said one or more first conductive layers and said one or more second conductive layers being the electrodes of one or more capacitors whose capacitance varies with the position of said plurality of diaphragms relative to said plurality of plates.
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92. A capacitive pressure monitoring sensor system comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
an integrated circuit die in said cavity;
a diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said integrated circuit die;
a first conductive layer on said diaphragm;
a second conductive layer on said die, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said die to determine a pressure; and
a signal conditioning circuit on said die for converting said capacitance to electrical signals which represent said pressure. - View Dependent Claims (93, 94)
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95. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a housing having a hermetically sealed cavity;
a plate in said cavity;
a diaphragm forming a part of said cavity and spaced from said plate;
a first conductive layer on said diaphragm;
a second conductive layer on said plate, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said plate; and
a proof mass disposed on said diaphragm wherein a change of position of said diaphragm in response to an applied force is magnified by the presence of said proof mass for increasing the sensitivity of the sensor. - View Dependent Claims (96, 97)
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98. A method for manufacturing a capacitive sensor, the method comprising:
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providing a housing having a hermetically sealable cavity;
forming a part of the enclosure of said cavity with a diaphragm spaced from a plate;
forming a first conductive layer on said diaphragm;
forming a second conductive layer on said plate, said first and second conductive layers being the electrodes of a capacitor whose capacitance varies with the position of said diaphragm relative to said plate;
disposing said plate in said cavity; and
hermetically sealing said cavity - View Dependent Claims (99)
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100. A method for measuring an external force, the method comprising:
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exposing a force to be measured to a diaphragm having a first conductive layer spaced from a plate in a hermetically sealed cavity having a second conductive layer; and
measuring a capacitance due to position of the first conductive layer of said diaphragm relative to the second conductive layer on said plate which is representative of said force applied to said diaphragm. - View Dependent Claims (101, 102)
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Specification