Bidirectional force sensor
US6324918A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 5, 2000 |
| Grant date | Dec 4, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 5, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01L5/1627
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The sensor of the invention comprises a flexible beam of a rectangular cross section with rigid solid end blocks at both ends for securing the sensor in a tester. The beam has two symmetrically-shaped through slots cut in mutually perpendicular directiors so that they are partially intersect within a body of the beam. Each slot has at its opposite ends notches which are wider than the slots so that the distance from the inner wall of the notch to the outer side surface of the beam is shorter than the distance to this surface from the inner wall of the slot. Strain gauges are attached to mutually perpendicular surfaces at the ends of the beam which are flexible in the direction of the force being measured and are rigid in the perpendicular direction. Under effect of the loading force and of the friction force, the flexible beam acts as a pair of overlapped and mutually perpendicular parallelograms. The overlapped slots make it possible to reduce the overall length of the beam and to increase the range of working temperatures of the sensor, to suppress the effect of natural frequency resonance and thermal deformation, and thus to improve reliability and accuracy of measurements.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.