Sensor and circuit architecture for three axis strain gauge pointing device and force transducer
US6243077A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 18, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 5, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 18, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0338
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A pointing device for use with computers and other electronic systems incorporates an array of resistive strain gauges on the surface of a substrate. The strain gauges exhibit resistance changes in response to stress or strain applied to the substrate by the movement of a joystick attached to the substrate, the resistance changes being proportional to the extent of movement of the joystick The strain gauges are electrically connected to control circuitry that successively establishes a series of voltage dividers across different ones of the strain gauges to measure the resistance of each of the strain gauges. From those measurements the position of the pointing device may be determined by comparing the measured resistances with known resistance values that correspond to a neutral stick position. The control circuitry establishes the voltage dividers by applying a known voltage across successive pairs of the strain gauges, and then detecting the voltage at the midpoint between the strain gauges that form each strain gauge pair to which the voltage is applied.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.