Stmicroelectronics S.r.l.

Nicol&ograve; Manaresi

Rinaldo Poluzzi

Roberto Guerrieri

Marco Tartagni

Dario Bruno

Eleonora Franchi

Joel Monnier

A device for detecting the pressure exerted at different points of a flexible and/or pliable object that may assume different shapes, includes a plurality of capacitive pressure sensors and at least a system for biasing and reading the capacitance of the sensors. The requirements of flexibility or pliability are satisfied by capacitive pressure sensors formed by two orthogonal sets of parallel or substantially parallel electrodes spaced, at least at each crossing between an electrode of one set and an electrode of the other set, by an elastically compressible dielectric, forming an array of pressure sensing pixel capacitors. The system for biasing and reading the capacitance includes column plate electrode selection circuits and row plate electrode selection circuits and a logic circuit for sequentially scanning the pixel capacitors and outputting pixel values of the pressure for reconstructing a distribution map of the pressure over the area of the array.

Textile-like capacitive pressure sensor and method of mapping the pressure exerted at points of a surface of a flexible and pliable object, particularly of a sail

The analog processor of this invention is programmable and capable of storing the processing coefficients in analog form. It comprises a storage section having at least one output, plural outputs in most cases, and being adapted to respectively generate programming signals on such outputs; the storage section is input a plurality of supply voltage signals and is operative to produce, in connection with information stored therein, one of the supply voltage signals on each of the outputs, it being understood that one voltage signal may be produced on several such outputs. Advantageously, the processor can also be programmed in a simple manner from circuits of the digital type if switches controlled by storage elements are used in the storage section.

Programmable fuzzy analog processor

Growing community of inventors

Bologna, Italy

Nicolò Manaresi

Growing community of inventors

Bologna, Italy

Nicol&ograve; Manaresi

Nicolò Manaresi