Multidimensional force sensor
First Claim
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1. A multidimensional force sensor, comprising:
- a substantially planar main body having an aperture;
a wide and thin first beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of said main body, with the normal of the wide sides of said first beam oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of said main body;
a wide and thin second beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of said main body and substantially perpendicular to the direction of said first beam, with the normal of the wide sides of said second beam oriented substantially parallel to the plane of said main body;
a wide and thin third beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of said main body and substantially perpendicular to the direction of said second beam, with the normal of the wide sides of said third beam oriented substantially parallel to the plane of said main body; and
sensing means coupled to each of said first, second and third beams, respectively, for sensing displacement of each of said first, second and third beams, respectively.
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Abstract
A multibeam structure measures displacement of one or more response elements to detect multiple components of applied force. The flexible beams are each coupled to a response element which may be displaced by a force arising from linear acceleration, angular acceleration, fluid flow, electric/magnetic/gravitational fields, and others sources. The displacement of the response element is detected with a variety of sensing methods including capacitive and piezoresistive sensing.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A multidimensional force sensor, comprising:
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a substantially planar main body having an aperture; a wide and thin first beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of said main body, with the normal of the wide sides of said first beam oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of said main body; a wide and thin second beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of said main body and substantially perpendicular to the direction of said first beam, with the normal of the wide sides of said second beam oriented substantially parallel to the plane of said main body; a wide and thin third beam having opposing wide sides attached at a first end to said main body and projecting into said aperture in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of said main body and substantially perpendicular to the direction of said second beam, with the normal of the wide sides of said third beam oriented substantially parallel to the plane of said main body; and sensing means coupled to each of said first, second and third beams, respectively, for sensing displacement of each of said first, second and third beams, respectively. - 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)
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Specification