The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 11, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 28, 1995
James S Neely, Wappingers Falls, NY (US);
Phillip J Restle, Katonah, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A capacitive bend sensor includes a first element having a comb-patterned portion of conducting material, and a second element having a comb-patterned portion of conducting material. A dielectric material is disposed between the comb-patterned portion of the first element and the comb-patterned portion of the second element. The first element is bonded to the second element such that the comb-patterned portion of the first element slides relative to the comb-patterned portion of the second element when the first and second elements are bent. Bend angle is measured according to the alignment of the comb-patterned portion of the first element and the comb-patterned portion of the second element. The sensor may be coupled to a human finger to measure bend angle of the finger, or may be coupled to a joint of a human body to measure bend angle of the joint.