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:
Feb. 16, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 17, 1996
Boris Kamentser, Fountain Valley, CA (US);
Eugenia Kamentser, Garden Grove, CA (US);
Bokam Engineering, Santa Ana, CA (US);
Abstract
An improved force transducer which may, for example, be used as a joystick control for computer display control. Co-planar strain gauges are configured for response to forces applied in each of three orthogonal directions. A post and underlying ceramic substrate, the latter having the strain gauges mounted thereon, are mounted to a printed circuit board by means of a conductive epoxy or solder in a gap between the substrate and the circuit board. A retainer may be used to limit the extent of post displacement in X and Y directions to prevent damage to the assembly from forces which would otherwise exceed the physical limits thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the post and underlying substrate are implemented as a unitary ceramic body. In another embodiment, ballast or trim resistors for balancing the output of the transducer, are located under the post. In yet another embodiment the metal paths or traces which connect to the strain gauges, follow a unique arrangement to avoid crossing over each other. In still another embodiment, temperature variation effects are nullified by employing an additional strain gauge or resistor for measuring forces in the Z direction.