Tactile instrument

US7698961B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Novineon Healthcare Technology Partners GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Sebastian Schostek · Lörrach, DE
• Chi-Nghia Ho · Reutlingen, DE
• Marc O. Schurr · Lörrach, DE
• Daniel Kalanovic · Stuttgart, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 31, 2005
• Grant date: Apr 20, 2010
• Expiry date: May 31, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01L5/228
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The ability of a person to grasp an object and at the same time to feel, as well as to determine mechanical and geometric parameters of the comprehended object, makes him or her irreplaceable for many tasks, i.e. in production or in surgery. The translation of this ability into a technological system has often failed up to now due to lack of special adjusted sensors. The object of this invention is a sensory device, which fulfills the requirements for a tactile sensor system and at the same time affords a cost-effective and simple manufacturing alternative to other sensor principles. The layer structure of the sensor element is so constructed that by effect of an external force of the current by a resistive layer a path is disposed to narrowing or enlargement. The voltage drop over this resistive layer is dependent upon the acting external force and serves as signal sensor.