Force sensor

Patent · 01 January 1993

OSTI ID:868778

Grahn, Allen R ^[1]

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1. Salt Lake City, UT

A force sensor and related method for determining force components. The force sensor includes a deformable medium having a contact surface against which a force can be applied, a signal generator for generating signals that travel through the deformable medium to the contact surface, a signal receptor for receiving the signal reflected from the contact surface, a generation controller, a reception controller, and a force determination apparatus. The signal generator has one or more signal generation regions for generating the signals. The generation controller selects and activates the signal generation regions. The signal receptor has one or more signal reception regions for receiving signals and for generating detections signals in response thereto. The reception controller selects signal reception regions and detects the detection signals. The force determination apparatus measures signal transit time by timing activation and detection and, optionally, determines force components for selected cross-field intersections. The timer which times by activation and detection can be any means for measuring signal transit time. A cross-field intersection is defined by the overlap of a signal generation region and a signal reception region.

• Research Organization: Bonneville Scientific
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-85ER80291
• Assignee: Bonneville Scientific (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Patent Number(s): US 5209126
• OSTI ID: 868778
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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