Capacitive sensor

• US 7,958,789 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2009
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Riko Company Limited.
• Original Assignee: Tokai Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Jun, Hashimoto, Kazunobu, Kida, Ayumu, Hayakawa, Tomonori
• Primary Examiner(s): NOORI, MASOUD H
• Application Number:
  US12/535,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20100033196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 737/80, 738/626.26
• US Class Current: 73/862.626
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/22 using change in capacitance
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2412 by varying overlap
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/142 using capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/146 for measuring force distributions, e.g. using force arrays G01L1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/228 using tactile array force sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A capacitive sensor includes a dielectric layer made of an elastomer and a pair of electrodes arranged via the dielectric layer, and detects deformation on the basis of electrostatic capacity variation between the pair of electrodes. The pair of electrodes contain an elastomer and conductive fillers filled into the elastomer, are expandable and contractible in accordance with deformation of the dielectric layer, and exhibit little conductivity variation even when the pair of electrodes expand and contract. At least one of the dielectric layer and the electrodes is formed by a printing method using a dielectric layer coating containing a formation component of the dielectric layer or an electrode coating containing a formation component of the electrode.

Claims

1. A capacitive sensor comprising:

a dielectric layer made of an elastomer and having stretchability; and

a pair of electrodes arranged via the dielectric layer, wherein

the pair of electrodes is constituted by an elastomer composition containing the elastomer and conductive fillers,

in a percolation curve expressing a relationship between a blended amount of the conductive fillers and an electric resistance in the elastomer composition, the blended amount (critical volume fraction;

φ

c) of the conductive fillers at a first polarity change point at which the electric resistance decreases to cause a transition between insulator and conductor is 25 vol % or less,

the pair of electrodes is expandable and contractible in accordance with a deformation of the dielectric layer and exhibits little conductivity variation when the pair of electrodes expands and contracts,

at least one of the dielectric layer and the electrodes is formed by a printing method using a dielectric layer coating containing a formation component of the dielectric layer or an electrode coating containing a formation component of the electrode, and

the capacitive sensor detects a deformation on the basis of an electrostatic capacity variation between the pair of electrodes, and has stretching flexibility.

2. The capacitive sensor according to claim 1, further comprising stretchable conductors connected respectively to the pair of electrodes, wherein each of the conductors contains an elastomer and conductive particles filled into the elastomer, has a smaller electric resistance than the electric resistance of the electrodes, and is formed by the printing method using a conductor coating containing a formation component of the conductor.

3. The capacitive sensor according to claim 2, wherein the pair of electrodes and the conductors are printed onto a surface and a back of the dielectric layer.

4. The capacitive sensor according to claim 2, further comprising an insulating layer that is arranged to cover at least one of the electrodes and the corresponding one of the conductors to insulate the electrode and the conductor from the outside.

5. The capacitive sensor according to claim 2, further comprising a pair of elastic substrates arranged via the dielectric layer, wherein

the electrode that contacts a surface of the dielectric layer and the corresponding conductor are printed onto a back of one of the elastic substrates, and

the electrode that contacts a back of the dielectric layer and the corresponding conductor are printed onto a surface of the other elastic substrate.

6. The capacitive sensor according to claim 1, wherein the conductive fillers constituting the pair of electrodes are formed from a carbon material.

7. A capacitive sensor comprising:

an integrally stretchable sensor main body including

a dielectric layer made of an elastomer,

at least one belt-shaped surface side electrode provided on a surface side of the dielectric layer, the surface side electrode being formed to include an elastomer and conductive fillers filled into the elastomer and including a surface side connection portion,

at least one belt-shaped back side electrode provided on a back side of the dielectric layer, the back side electrode being formed to include an elastomer and conductive fillers filled into the elastomer and including a back side connection portion,

a plurality of detection portions formed by an intersection between the surface side electrode and the back side electrode when seen from a surface-back direction,

a surface side conductor that is connected to the surface side connection portion, formed to include an elastomer and conductive particles filled into the elastomer, and has a smaller electric resistance than the electric resistance of the surface side electrode, and

a back side conductor that is connected to the back side connection portion, formed to include an elastomer and conductive particles filled into the elastomer, and has a smaller electric resistance than the electric resistance of the back side electrode; and

a calculation portion that is electrically connected to the surface side conductor and the back side conductor, separates an electric resistance corresponding to a distance from the surface side connection portion of the surface side electrode to each of the detection portions and the electric resistance corresponding to a distance from the back side connection portion of the back side electrode to each of the detection portions from an impedance detected from the surface side conductor and the back side conductor, extracts an electrostatic capacity of the each detection portion, and calculates a surface pressure distribution on the sensor main body from the electrostatic capacity of the each detection portion.

8. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein the calculation portion calculates a total load applied to the sensor main body by integrating the electrostatic capacity of each of the plurality of detection portions.

9. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein

the surface side electrode is arranged in a plurality of rows,

the back side electrode is arranged in a plurality of rows, and

the plurality of surface side electrodes and the plurality of back side electrodes are arranged substantially orthogonally to each other when seen from the surface-back direction.

10. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein

the surface side electrode and the surface side conductor are printed onto a surface of the dielectric layer, and

the back side electrode and the back side conductor are printed onto a back of the dielectric layer.

11. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein the sensor main body further includes:

a surface side insulating cover layer that is printed over the surface side electrode and the surface side conductor either directly or indirectly so as to insulate the surface side electrode and the surface side conductor from the outside; and

a back side insulating cover layer that is printed over the back side electrode and the back side conductor either directly or indirectly so as to insulate the back side electrode and the back side conductor from the outside.

12. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein

the sensor main body further includes a tubular insulating tube member that insulates an interior and an exterior of the insulating tube member,

the dielectric layer is housed in the insulating tube member,

the surface side electrode and the surface side conductor are printed onto an inner surface of the insulating tube member in a portion facing the surface of the dielectric layer, and

the back side electrode and the back side conductor are printed onto the inner surface of the insulating tube member in a portion facing the back of the dielectric layer.

13. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein a surface resistance between both longitudinal ends of at least one of the surface side electrode and the back side electrode is 100 kΩ

or less.

14. The capacitive sensor according to claim 7, wherein the conductive fillers constituting the surface side electrode and the back side electrode are formed from one or more materials selected from conductive carbon black, a carbon nanotube, a derivative of a carbon nanotube, graphite, and conductive carbon fiber.