Pressure activated electrically conductive material
US6652968B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 22, 2001 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 8, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/2998
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A pressure activated electrically conductive polymeric matrix material that is doped with particulate filler material. Electrical conductivity is pressure activated with a change in electrical resistance; specifically, with no pressure applied, the material is at a high resistance and with pressure the resistance is materially lower. Conductive fillers may be spherical or powder substrate, such as glass, graphite, etc., having plated thereon a metal coating which is electrically conductive and which is more thermally conductive than the substrate. The polymeric matrix materials may include polyurethane, silicone, and many other synthetic or natural rubbers. The material of the present invention exhibits a unique on-off switching characteristic, in that, at a pressure smaller than actuation pressure, the amount of current the material can switch is zero; at pressure greater or equal to actuation pressure, the material switches the full current, with no material change in the overall temperature of the material. This translates into a very sharp decrease in the electrical resistance of the material with little or no detectable increase in the overall temperature of the material. The …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.