Extruded capacitive sensor assembly and detection method
First Claim
1. An extruded capacitive sensor assembly, comprising:
- an extruded jacket of non-conductive material;
a set of conductors co-extruded with the jacket, including a ground conductor disposed in a lower section of the jacket and first and second sense conductors disposed in an upper section of the jacket, where the first and second sense conductors have lengths that are unequal and a cut is made intermediate the length of the first sense conductor, such that the length of the first sense conductor is less than the length of the second sense conductor; and
a detector circuit coupled to said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors to detect obstacles in proximity to said sensor assembly based on fringing capacitance between said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An extruded capacitive sensor assembly includes multiple sense conductors of unequal length disposed in an upper section of a non-conductive jacket, and a ground conductor disposed in a lower section of the jacket adjacent a panel or carrier to which the strip is affixed. A sensor strip with three sense conductors is formed by extruding a non-conductive jacket having first and second sense conductors in the upper section of the jacket, and severing the first sense conductor to create three unequal length sense conductor segments. Electrical termination to the sense and ground conductors can be made at the point where the first sense conductor is severed, or at the end of the sensor strip. In cases where only two sense conductor segments are needed, the third sense conductor segment is removed or simply un-used.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An extruded capacitive sensor assembly, comprising:
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an extruded jacket of non-conductive material; a set of conductors co-extruded with the jacket, including a ground conductor disposed in a lower section of the jacket and first and second sense conductors disposed in an upper section of the jacket, where the first and second sense conductors have lengths that are unequal and a cut is made intermediate the length of the first sense conductor, such that the length of the first sense conductor is less than the length of the second sense conductor; and a detector circuit coupled to said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors to detect obstacles in proximity to said sensor assembly based on fringing capacitance between said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An extruded capacitive sensor assembly, comprising:
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an extruded jacket of non-conductive material; a set of conductors co-extruded with the jacket, including a ground conductor disposed in a lower section of the jacket and first and second sense conductors disposed in an upper section of the jacket; a cutout at a point intermediate a length of said jacket that severs said first sense conductor to shorten said first sense conductor relative to said second sense conductor; and a detector circuit coupled to said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors to detect obstacles in proximity to said sensor assembly based on fringing capacitance between said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of detecting obstacles in proximity to a carrier, comprising the steps of:
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co-extruding an elongate strip of non-conductive material, a ground conductor, and first and second sense conductors spaced from each other and from said ground conductor; forming a cutout on the strip that severs said first sense conductor at a point intermediate its length to shorten said first sense conductor relative to said second sense conductor; affixing said strip to said carrier; and detecting obstacles in proximity to said carrier based on fringing capacitance between said ground conductor and said first and second sense conductors. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification