Capacitive tactile sensor with nested matrix electrodes
First Claim
1. A capacitive tactile sensor for measuring location of touch and force of touch imparted by an external object, said tactile sensor comprising:
- an array of electrodes with a drive electrode layer separated from a sense electrode layer by a dielectric substrate, at least one of said drive electrode layer or said sense electrode layer comprising a plurality of individual electrodes, at least two of said individual electrodes in turn each comprising a group of three or more parallel fine conductors located in a sensing area of said array of electrodes,a first deformable conductive shield layer separated from either said drive electrode layer or said sense electrode layer by a first compressible dielectric layer, anda control electronics operatively connected to said drive electrode layer, said sense electrode layer, and said first conductive shield layer, said control electronics configured to measure a change in capacitance in groups of said parallel fine conductors via monitoring their corresponding individual electrodes upon imparting local mechanical compression onto said first conductive shield layer and said first compressible dielectric layer by said external object.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A capacitive tactile sensor for measuring location and force of touch from an external object includes a drive electrode layer separated from a sense electrode layer by a dielectric substrate, which may be a two-sided FPCB. A first deformable conductive shield layer is further provided and is separated from either the drive electrode layer or the sense electrode layer by a first compressible dielectric layer. A control electronics are operatively connected to all of the drive electrode layer, sense electrode layer, and the first conductive shield layer. The control electronics may be configured to measure a change in capacitance upon the external object imparting local mechanical compression onto the first conductive shield layer and the first compressible dielectric layer. The tactile sensor improves reliability of interconnections between drive and sense electrodes and the control electronics.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A capacitive tactile sensor for measuring location of touch and force of touch imparted by an external object, said tactile sensor comprising:
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an array of electrodes with a drive electrode layer separated from a sense electrode layer by a dielectric substrate, at least one of said drive electrode layer or said sense electrode layer comprising a plurality of individual electrodes, at least two of said individual electrodes in turn each comprising a group of three or more parallel fine conductors located in a sensing area of said array of electrodes, a first deformable conductive shield layer separated from either said drive electrode layer or said sense electrode layer by a first compressible dielectric layer, and a control electronics operatively connected to said drive electrode layer, said sense electrode layer, and said first conductive shield layer, said control electronics configured to measure a change in capacitance in groups of said parallel fine conductors via monitoring their corresponding individual electrodes upon imparting local mechanical compression onto said first conductive shield layer and said first compressible dielectric layer by said external object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A capacitive tactile sensor for measuring location of touch and force of touch imparted by an external object, said tactile sensor comprising:
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an array of electrodes with a drive electrode layer separated from a sense electrode layer by a dielectric substrate, at least one of said drive electrode layer or said sense electrode layer comprising a plurality of individual electrodes, at least two of said individual electrodes in turn each comprising a group of three or more parallel fine conductors located in a sensing area of said array of electrodes, a first compressible dielectric layer adjacent to said array of electrodes, and a control electronics operatively connected to said drive electrode layer and said sense electrode layer, said control electronics configured to measure a change in capacitance in groups of said parallel fine conductors via monitoring their corresponding individual electrodes upon imparting local mechanical compression onto said first compressible dielectric layer by said external object. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification