PRESSURE SENSING MAT
First Claim
1. A pressure sensing mat comprising:
- a first layer of fabric having rows of electrically conductive strips separated by nonconductive spacers, said first layer of fabric being made of at least two different types of material secured together in an end-to-end fashion wherein a first type of said material is positioned at said nonconductive spacers and a second type of said material is positioned at said conductive strips;
a second layer of fabric that includes pressure sensing material; and
a third layer of fabric having columns of electrically conductive strips separated by nonconductive spacers, wherein said second layer of fabric is positioned between said first and third layers of fabric.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pressure sensing sheet includes at least first, second, and third layers wherein the first and third layers each have conductive paths defined therein that are separated by nonconductive spacers. The orientation of the conductive paths of the first layer are transverse to the orientation of the conductive paths of the third layer. The second layer is made of material that has an electrical characteristic that changes with applied pressure, such as, but not limited to, piezoresistive or piezoelectric material. The first and/or third layers are made from multi-material sheets wherein a first type of material will repel conductive particles when subjected to an autocatalytic coating process, while the second type of material will bond with the conductive particles during the autocatalytic coating process. The use of different materials in the first and/or third layers facilitates the manufacturing of the conductive paths and nonconductive spacers.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A pressure sensing mat comprising:
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a first layer of fabric having rows of electrically conductive strips separated by nonconductive spacers, said first layer of fabric being made of at least two different types of material secured together in an end-to-end fashion wherein a first type of said material is positioned at said nonconductive spacers and a second type of said material is positioned at said conductive strips; a second layer of fabric that includes pressure sensing material; and a third layer of fabric having columns of electrically conductive strips separated by nonconductive spacers, wherein said second layer of fabric is positioned between said first and third layers of fabric. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of making a pressure sensing mat comprising:
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providing a first layer of fabric having rows of a first type of material secured together with rows of a second type of material; providing a second layer of fabric having an electrical characteristic that changes in response to normal forces applied thereto; providing a third layer of fabric having columns of the first type of material secured together with columns of the second type of material; bathing said first and third layers of fabric in a liquid solution that includes electrically conductive particles, said electrically conductive particles adhering to said second type of material but not said first type of material; positioning said second layer of fabric between, and in contact with, said first and third layers of fabric; and electrically coupling said rows and columns of said second type of material to a controller. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 24)
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23. The method of 20 wherein said first and second types of material are secured together by knitting.
Specification