Contact sensors and methods for making same
First Claim
1. A contact sensor comprising:
- an essentially inflexible electrically conductive composite material at a surface, the electrically conductive composite material comprising an essentially inflexible high performance or engineering polymer and an essentially inflexible conductive filler;
a conductive member; and
a junction being defined between the electrically conductive composite material at the surface and the conductive member;
wherein variations in load between the electrically conductive composite material and the conductive member produce an output signal representative of the detectable variations in resistance at the surface of the electrically conductive composite material due to contact between the surface of the electrically conductive composite material and the conductive member.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to novel contact sensors. The contact sensors of the invention include a conductive composite material formed of a polymer and a conductive filler. In one particular embodiment, the composite materials can include less than about 10 wt % conductive filler. Thus, the composite material of the contact sensors can have physical characteristics essentially identical to the polymer, while being electrically conductive with the electrical resistance proportional to the load on the sensor. If desired, the sensors can be formed of the same polymeric material as the bearing that is being examined. The sensors can provide real time dynamic contact information for joint members under conditions expected during use. In one particular embodiment, the sensors can be used to examine dynamic wear characteristics of artificial joint bearings such as artificial knee, hip, or shoulder bearings.
113 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A contact sensor comprising:
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an essentially inflexible electrically conductive composite material at a surface, the electrically conductive composite material comprising an essentially inflexible high performance or engineering polymer and an essentially inflexible conductive filler; a conductive member; and a junction being defined between the electrically conductive composite material at the surface and the conductive member; wherein variations in load between the electrically conductive composite material and the conductive member produce an output signal representative of the detectable variations in resistance at the surface of the electrically conductive composite material due to contact between the surface of the electrically conductive composite material and the conductive member. - 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)
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Specification