Cylindrical capacitive force sensing device and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a capacitor having an upper conductive surface and a lower conductive surface parallel to the upper conductive surface;
a cylindrical housing with a cover plate to encompass the capacitor;
a sensor in the cylindrical housing to generate a measurement based on a change in a distance between the upper conductive surface and the lower conductive surface when the cover plate is deflected by a load applied on the cover plate; and
a modular spacer between the cover plate and the upper conductive surface to provide a gap between the upper conductive surface and the lower conductive surface and to buffer an effect of the load on the upper conductive surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Cylindrical capacitance force sensing device/method is disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a capacitor having two parallel conductive surfaces, a cylindrical housing with a cover plate to encompass the capacitor, and a sensor in the cylindrical housing to generate a measurement based on a change in a distance between the two conductive surfaces when the cover plate is deflected by a load applied on the cover plate. In another embodiment, a method may include applying a load on top of a housing which encompasses a capacitive sensor having two parallel conductive surfaces to produce a deflection of a cover plate of the housing, automatically generating a measurement from the capacitive sensor when a distance between the two parallel conductive surfaces is charged due to the deflection of the cover plate, and decreasing an error in the measurement via stabilizing to a mounting surface.
94 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a capacitor having an upper conductive surface and a lower conductive surface parallel to the upper conductive surface; a cylindrical housing with a cover plate to encompass the capacitor; a sensor in the cylindrical housing to generate a measurement based on a change in a distance between the upper conductive surface and the lower conductive surface when the cover plate is deflected by a load applied on the cover plate; and a modular spacer between the cover plate and the upper conductive surface to provide a gap between the upper conductive surface and the lower conductive surface and to buffer an effect of the load on the upper conductive surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method, comprising:
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applying a load on top of a housing which encompasses a capacitive sensor having two parallel conductive surfaces to produce a deflection of a cover plate of the housing; automatically generating a measurement from the capacitive sensor when a distance between the two parallel conductive surfaces is changed due to the deflection of the cover plate; decreasing an error in the measurement via stabilizing the housing to a mounting surface; and changing a thickness of a modular spacer placed between the cover plate of the housing and an upper conductive surface of the two parallel conductive surfaces to set up the distance between the two parallel conductive plates. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification