Capacitive transducer
First Claim
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1. A capacitance transducer comprising:
- a first electrode;
a second electrode, said second electrode comprising a dielectric plate including a plurality of separate electrodes thereon, said separate electrodes consisting of a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending strips of electrically-conducting material, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode have overlapping surface areas;
a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending first solid dielectric strips which are disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; and
a second fluid dielectric which is also disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode;
said first electrode and said second electrode being so-oriented that increasing force which is applied to said transducer resiliently presses an increasing portion of said overlapping surface areas of said first electrode and said second electrode into close proximity, but which are separated by said first solid dielectric strips, while substantially-simultaneously removing said second fluid dielectric from areas of close proximity, thereby to cause a capacitance response that depends significantly on the size of areas which are pressed together relative to any capacitance response resulting from a change in the spacing of said first electrode and said second electrode.
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Abstract
A capacitance transducer is provided herein for use in measuring loads. It includes a flexible first electrode, a flexible thin film solid dielectric and a fluid dielectric therebetween. A load which is applied to the transducer presses the first electrode, and the thin film dielectric against the second electrode, thereby squeezing out the fluid dielectric to increase the area of the electrodes that are in close proximity. This provides a capacitance transducer that has a significant linear response and an insignificant non-linear response.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A capacitance transducer comprising:
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a first electrode; a second electrode, said second electrode comprising a dielectric plate including a plurality of separate electrodes thereon, said separate electrodes consisting of a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending strips of electrically-conducting material, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode have overlapping surface areas; a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending first solid dielectric strips which are disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; and a second fluid dielectric which is also disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; said first electrode and said second electrode being so-oriented that increasing force which is applied to said transducer resiliently presses an increasing portion of said overlapping surface areas of said first electrode and said second electrode into close proximity, but which are separated by said first solid dielectric strips, while substantially-simultaneously removing said second fluid dielectric from areas of close proximity, thereby to cause a capacitance response that depends significantly on the size of areas which are pressed together relative to any capacitance response resulting from a change in the spacing of said first electrode and said second electrode.
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2. A capacitance transducer comprising:
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a first electrode; a second electrode, said second electrode comprising a dielectric plate including a plurality of separate electrodes thereon, said separate electrodes consisting of a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending strips of electrically-conducting material, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode have overlapping surface areas; a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending first rigid dielectric strips which are disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; a second fluid dielectric which is also disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; and means for orienting said first electrode with respect to said second electrode so that increasing force which is applied to said transducer resiliently presses an increasing portion of said overlapping surface areas of said first electrode and said second electrode into closer proximity, while being separated by said first rigid dielectric strips, and while substantially-simultaneously removing said second fluid dielectric from areas of close proximity, thereby to cause a capacitance response that depends significantly on the size of said areas which are pressed together relative to any capacitance response resulting from a change in said spacing of said electrodes; thereby to provide a capacitance transducer that has a significant linear response and an insignificant non-linear response.
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3. A capacitance transducer comprising:
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a first electrode; a second electrode, said second electrode comprising a dielectric plate which includes a plurality of separate electrodes thereon, said separate electrodes consisting of a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending strips of electrically-conducting material, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode have overlapping surface areas; a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending first rigid dielectric strips which are disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; a second fluid dielectric which is also disposed between said first electrode and said second electrode; and means for orienting said first electrode with respect to said second electrode so that increasing force which is applied to said transducer resiliently presses an increasing portion of overlapping surface areas of said first electrode and said second electrode into closer proximity while being separated by said first rigid dielectric strips, and while substantially-simultaneously removing said second fluid dielectric from areas of close proximity, thereby to cause a capacitance response that depends significantly on the size of the areas which are pressed together relative to any capacitance response resulting from a change in said spacing of the electrodes, and wherein portions of said first electrode which are not pressed close to said second electrode are farther from said second electrode, said further portions being separated from said second electrode both by said rigid dielectric strips and by said second fluid dielectric that occupies said space between said electrodes; thereby to provide a capacitance transducer that has a significant linear response and an insignificant non-linear response. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A capacitance mat for use in measuring loads, comprising:
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a vertically-stacked sandwich of at least a pair of vertically-spaced-apart, first electrode plate and second electrode plate forming a capacitor, a lower one of said first electrode plate and said second electrode plate comprising a laminate of an insulator dielectric substrate and a plurality of separate electrodes consisting of a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending strips of electrically-conducting material; a first rigid dielectric, said first rigid dielectric comprising a plurality of laterally-spaced-apart, substantially-rigid, dielectric material separator strips which are disposed between each adjacent pair of said stack of vertically-spaced-apart, first electrode plate and said second electrode plate, thereby to separate said each adjacent pair of said vertically-spaced-apart first and second electrode plates, said substantially-rigid dielectric material separator strips being offset in different levels of said vertically-stacked sandwich, and being disposed to run parallel to one another in said different levels of said vertically-stacked sandwich, said substantially-rigid dielectric material separator strips thereby defining spaces into which at least one of said electrode plates may bend in response to an applied load, so that selected portions of said dielectric material separator strips are in contact with a substantially-horizontal electrode plate which is immediately above it in response to that applied load, and whereby a lower electrode is pressed against an upper electrode, causing capacitance of said mat to change; and a second fluid dielectric; thereby to provide a capacitance transducer mat that has a significant linear response and an insignificant non-linear response. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A capacitance transducer comprising:
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a first electrode and a second electrode, said first electrode and said second electrode having overlapping surface areas which are spaced apart by a first solid dielectric, said first solid dielectric comprising a plurality of transversely-spaced-apart thin strips of dielectric material, the thickness of said thin strips of dielectric material being less than the distance between said first electrode and said second electrode, and by a second fluid dielectric, said second fluid dielectric occupying the space between said first electrode, between said second electrode and between said first solid dielectric when said first electrode and said second electrode are not pressed together, and said second fluid dielectric being movable into and out of said space as said first electrode and said second electrode deflect and resiliently deform; and means for orienting said first electrode with respect to said second electrode so that increasing force which is applied to said transducer resiliently presses an increasing portion of overlapping surface areas of said first electrode and said electrode into closer proximity while being separated by said first solid dielectric strips and while substantially-simultaneously removing said second fluid dielectric from areas of close proximity, thereby to cause a capacitance response that depends significantly on the size of the areas which are pressed together relative to any capacitance response resulting from a change in the spacing of the electrodes, and wherein further portions of said first electrode which are not pressed close to said second electrode are farther from said second electrode, said further portions being separated from said second electrode by said first solid dielectric strips and also by said second fluid dielectric that occupies said space between said electrodes; thereby to provide a capacitance transducer that has a significant linear response and an insignificant non-linear response. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification