EP1144970A2 - Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution - Google Patents

Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution

Info

Publication number
EP1144970A2
EP1144970A2 EP00964619A EP00964619A EP1144970A2 EP 1144970 A2 EP1144970 A2 EP 1144970A2 EP 00964619 A EP00964619 A EP 00964619A EP 00964619 A EP00964619 A EP 00964619A EP 1144970 A2 EP1144970 A2 EP 1144970A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
miniaturised
sensor device
sensors
force sensor
printed board
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00964619A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1144970A3 (en
Inventor
Saad Jabir
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Encass Srl
Original Assignee
Encass Srl
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Encass Srl filed Critical Encass Srl
Publication of EP1144970A2 publication Critical patent/EP1144970A2/en
Publication of EP1144970A3 publication Critical patent/EP1144970A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01L—MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE
    • G01L17/00—Devices or apparatus for measuring tyre pressure or the pressure in other inflated bodies
    • G01L17/005—Devices or apparatus for measuring tyre pressure or the pressure in other inflated bodies using a sensor contacting the exterior surface, e.g. for measuring deformation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01L—MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE
    • G01L1/00—Measuring force or stress, in general
    • G01L1/20—Measuring force or stress, in general by measuring variations in ohmic resistance of solid materials or of electrically-conductive fluids; by making use of electrokinetic cells, i.e. liquid-containing cells wherein an electrical potential is produced or varied upon the application of stress
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01L—MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE
    • G01L5/00—Apparatus for, or methods of, measuring force, work, mechanical power, or torque, specially adapted for specific purposes
    • G01L5/22—Apparatus for, or methods of, measuring force, work, mechanical power, or torque, specially adapted for specific purposes for measuring the force applied to control members, e.g. control members of vehicles, triggers
    • G01L5/226—Apparatus for, or methods of, measuring force, work, mechanical power, or torque, specially adapted for specific purposes for measuring the force applied to control members, e.g. control members of vehicles, triggers to manipulators, e.g. the force due to gripping
    • G01L5/228—Apparatus for, or methods of, measuring force, work, mechanical power, or torque, specially adapted for specific purposes for measuring the force applied to control members, e.g. control members of vehicles, triggers to manipulators, e.g. the force due to gripping using tactile array force sensors

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing a surface force distribution.
  • a particular object of the invention is to provide a sensor device which is capable of withstand also a considerable stress without undergoing structural modifications that could change its operating precision.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a device which is capable of ensuring the highest reliability and safety of use owing to its peculiar features.
  • Not last aim of the present invention is to provide a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution which can be easily manufactured by using elements and materials that can be readily found on the market, such device being further competitive from an economic point of view.
  • a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution, characterized in that there is provided a metal plate to which a printed board is applied for supporting a plurality of sensors made of a ceramic support on which a resistive paste is printed, such resistive paste having contacts that can be connected by soldering to the contacts of a printed board to make a mechanical, electrical connection.
  • Fig. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of the force sensor device according to the invention
  • Fig. 2 shows the electric operating circuit.
  • the miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution includes a thick metal plate 1 to which a printed board 2 is glued by a structural glue so that the circuit itself does not undergo deformation .
  • Sensors 3 made by thick or thin film technology are applied to the printed board by printing a resistive paste 4 on a ceramic layer 5.
  • Resistive paste 4 forms contacts 6 which are connected by soldering to the corresponding contacts 8 of the printed board.
  • Soldering have the function of providing a mechanical fastening to the printed board and at the same time an electrical connection to the other sensors and the outside interface and control circuits.
  • the single sensor on the ceramic may have a variety of resistances.
  • support means 10 are provided in the printed board so that the deformation of the ceramic is facilitated. In fact upon application of a force to the sensor, the ceramic deforms and causes the resistance to extend and to change its value.
  • the variation of the resistance is linearly proportional to the force applied to the single sensor.
  • the sensors formed by one resistance are arranged on a matrix of columns and rows and are connected to the printed board.
  • the signals sensed by the sensors are fed to the outside through connectors provided on the printed board .
  • the operating electronics includes essentially a microcontroller 20 which provides for controlling data collection and is connected via an analogue-to-digital converter 21 to a first multiplexer 22 which is connected to operational amplifiers 23 which are associated to the rows of the sensor matrix and detect a voltage that varies depending on the sensor resistance.
  • a second multiplexer 25 operating one sensor column at a time is provided.
  • Microcontroller 20 is associated to a data storage memory 27, moreover an interface 28 for the connection to a PC 29 is provided.
  • the electronics provided with a microcontroller collects and stores force values from the matrix as well as operates according to a series communication protocol or is computer-aided.
  • the computer software displays the maps of forces on the plane of the matrix and the interface circuit provides to the insulation among cells so that any sensor senses only the force applied to its surface.
  • the reference voltage used by the operational amplifiers may vary from 100 mV to 10 V depending on the next amplification circuit and the power supply.
  • Microcontroller operates one column at a time by controlling the second multiplexer. The voltage of the operated column will then be present at the output of the amplifiers.
  • the microcontroller converts the signal of one amplifier at a time and the converted data is then stored in a local memory.
  • the communication protocol to the computer controls the transmission of such data to the computer so that it can be processed and displayed as well as stored in the bulk memory of the computer.
  • the electronics of the computer provides for the compensation of the initial errors in each sensor and corrects the differences in the dynamic response of the single sensors .
  • the thus connected and arranged sensors have the objects of providing a map of distribution of the forces perpendicular to the surfaces so that they are particularly suitable for the application to different fields such as the forces under the tires and the forces acting on a walking surface in orthopaedia. From the foregoing one can see how the invention accomplishes the proposed objects. Moreover, it should be appreciated that a particularly practical and functional sensor device is provided.

Abstract

A miniaturised force sensor device for sensing a surface force distribution includes a metal plate to which a printed board is applied for supporting a plurality of sensors made of a ceramic support on which a resistive paste is printed, such resistive paste having contacts that can be connected by soldering to the contacts of a printed board to make a mechanical, electrical connection.

Description

Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution
The present invention relates to a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing a surface force distribution.
In many field, as it is known, there is the need to sense the distribution of forces acting perpendicularly to a surface.
In particular, it is necessary to carry out measurements of the forces exerted by tires on the ground in order to investigate the tire bearing pressure when the static load changes and the behaviour of the sliding pressure when the tire rotates at different speeds. An exact measurement of the forces under the tires is important to optimise the efficiency and the wear resistance of the latter through the investigation of a variety of tire shapes and treadings .
Also in orthopaedia it is necessary to measure the distribution of the forces generated by the human body on the ground, particularly at the bearing of feet.
In fact it is very important to investigate the distribution of the body weight on the foot sole as well as it is necessary to investigate the pressures generated on the ground during walking. Actually the static, dynamic investigations of the foot bearing are essential for sensing bearing irregularities as well as prescribing and designing corrective shoes and shoe soles .
Also during the recovery it is necessary to calculate and display the projection of the centre of gravity to the bearing area on a monitor in real time in order to let people to practise and to recover people that have undergone traumas influencing their stability as well as the capability of controlling their own body. In order to carry out such measurements, there are presently provided footboards or surfaces using piezoresistive or capacitive sensors which are absolutely not capable of providing a high space resolution associated to a reading precision so that it is not possible to draw exactly a correct map of force or pressure distribution. The present invention seeks to solve the problem set forth above by providing a force sensing device which allows the distribution of forces in miniaturised spaces to be determined, thus also allowing a local distribution of forces in extremely small spaces to be sensed with very high precision in real time.
With regard to the object set forth above, a particular object of the invention is to provide a sensor device which is capable of withstand also a considerable stress without undergoing structural modifications that could change its operating precision.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which is capable of ensuring the highest reliability and safety of use owing to its peculiar features. Not last aim of the present invention is to provide a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution which can be easily manufactured by using elements and materials that can be readily found on the market, such device being further competitive from an economic point of view. The aim mentioned above as well as the cited objects and others that will be better pointed out thereafter are accomplished by a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution, characterized in that there is provided a metal plate to which a printed board is applied for supporting a plurality of sensors made of a ceramic support on which a resistive paste is printed, such resistive paste having contacts that can be connected by soldering to the contacts of a printed board to make a mechanical, electrical connection.
Further features and advantages of the objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution shown by way of an illustrative, but not limitative, example by means of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of the force sensor device according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows the electric operating circuit.
With particular reference to the numerals of the above-mentioned Figures, the miniaturised force sensor device for sensing the surface force distribution according to the invention includes a thick metal plate 1 to which a printed board 2 is glued by a structural glue so that the circuit itself does not undergo deformation . Sensors 3 made by thick or thin film technology are applied to the printed board by printing a resistive paste 4 on a ceramic layer 5. Resistive paste 4 forms contacts 6 which are connected by soldering to the corresponding contacts 8 of the printed board. Soldering have the function of providing a mechanical fastening to the printed board and at the same time an electrical connection to the other sensors and the outside interface and control circuits. The single sensor on the ceramic may have a variety of resistances. In addition, support means 10 are provided in the printed board so that the deformation of the ceramic is facilitated. In fact upon application of a force to the sensor, the ceramic deforms and causes the resistance to extend and to change its value.
The variation of the resistance is linearly proportional to the force applied to the single sensor.
The sensors formed by one resistance are arranged on a matrix of columns and rows and are connected to the printed board.
The signals sensed by the sensors are fed to the outside through connectors provided on the printed board . The operating electronics, as shown in Figure 2, includes essentially a microcontroller 20 which provides for controlling data collection and is connected via an analogue-to-digital converter 21 to a first multiplexer 22 which is connected to operational amplifiers 23 which are associated to the rows of the sensor matrix and detect a voltage that varies depending on the sensor resistance. A second multiplexer 25 operating one sensor column at a time is provided. Microcontroller 20 is associated to a data storage memory 27, moreover an interface 28 for the connection to a PC 29 is provided.
The electronics provided with a microcontroller collects and stores force values from the matrix as well as operates according to a series communication protocol or is computer-aided.
The computer software displays the maps of forces on the plane of the matrix and the interface circuit provides to the insulation among cells so that any sensor senses only the force applied to its surface.
The reference voltage used by the operational amplifiers may vary from 100 mV to 10 V depending on the next amplification circuit and the power supply. Microcontroller operates one column at a time by controlling the second multiplexer. The voltage of the operated column will then be present at the output of the amplifiers. The microcontroller converts the signal of one amplifier at a time and the converted data is then stored in a local memory. The communication protocol to the computer controls the transmission of such data to the computer so that it can be processed and displayed as well as stored in the bulk memory of the computer. The electronics of the computer provides for the compensation of the initial errors in each sensor and corrects the differences in the dynamic response of the single sensors .
The thus connected and arranged sensors have the objects of providing a map of distribution of the forces perpendicular to the surfaces so that they are particularly suitable for the application to different fields such as the forces under the tires and the forces acting on a walking surface in orthopaedia. From the foregoing one can see how the invention accomplishes the proposed objects. Moreover, it should be appreciated that a particularly practical and functional sensor device is provided.
The thus conceived invention may undergo a number of modifications and changes, all of them within the scope of the inventive step. Furthermore, all of the construction details may be replaced by other equivalent components. In practise, the employed materials as well as the size and the shapes may be varied according to the requirements .

Claims

Claims
1. A miniaturised force sensor device for sensing a surface force distribution, characterized in that there is provided a metal plate to which a printed board is applied for supporting a plurality of sensors made of a ceramic support on which a resistive paste is printed, such resistive paste having contacts that can be connected by soldering to the contacts of a printed board to make a mechanical, electrical connection.
2. The miniaturised force sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that there are provided bearing points among sensors and the printed board in order to reduce the shear stress at the soldering point as well as the mechanical hysteresis.
3. The miniaturised force sensor device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said sensors are arranged according to a matrix.
4. The miniaturised force sensor device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is provided a data processing means formed of a microcontroller operatively associated to a first multiplexer to receive signals from the single rows of sensors, the microcontroller being also connected to a memory through an analogue-to-digital converter, a second multiplexer being also provided for scanning the columns of sensors .
5. The miniaturised force sensor device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that there are provided operational amplifiers, the output voltage of which depends on the resistance of the sensor.
6. The miniaturised force sensor device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said microcontroller is connected to a computer for controlling data and displaying the force distribution in real time.
EP00964619A 1999-09-13 2000-09-13 Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution Withdrawn EP1144970A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITMI990565 ITMI990565U1 (en) 1999-09-13 1999-09-13 MINIATURIZED FORCE SENSOR DEVICE FOR DETECTING THE FORCE DISTRIBUTION ON A SURFACE
ITMI990565U 1999-09-13
PCT/IT2000/000361 WO2001020284A2 (en) 1999-09-13 2000-09-13 Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1144970A2 true EP1144970A2 (en) 2001-10-17
EP1144970A3 EP1144970A3 (en) 2002-01-30

Family

ID=11382357

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00964619A Withdrawn EP1144970A3 (en) 1999-09-13 2000-09-13 Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1144970A3 (en)
JP (1) JP2003509685A (en)
AU (1) AU7553900A (en)
IT (1) ITMI990565U1 (en)
WO (1) WO2001020284A2 (en)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB0415258D0 (en) * 2004-07-07 2004-08-11 Wheelright Ltd Vehicle tyre checking system
CN103954393B (en) * 2013-11-26 2016-02-10 北京理工大学 People based on force plate causes load test system
CN104180932B (en) * 2014-08-21 2016-06-08 电子科技大学 A kind of distributed interactive force measuring device and measuring method thereof
CN111307363B (en) * 2020-02-18 2021-10-29 深圳市双盈电子科技有限公司 Tire pressure detection device and use method thereof
WO2022190840A1 (en) * 2021-03-10 2022-09-15 凸版印刷株式会社 Sheet-like sensor, and method for manufacturing same

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1270194B (en) * 1994-06-09 1997-04-29 Pirelli DEVICE TO DETECT THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIFIC PRESSURE IN THE FOOTPRINT OF A TIRE FOR VEHICLES AND METHOD OF DETECTION FROM IT IMPLEMENTED

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO0120284A3 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ITMI990565V0 (en) 1999-09-13
AU7553900A (en) 2001-04-17
WO2001020284A3 (en) 2001-09-27
WO2001020284A2 (en) 2001-03-22
JP2003509685A (en) 2003-03-11
ITMI990565U1 (en) 2001-03-13
EP1144970A3 (en) 2002-01-30

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP0970657B1 (en) Apparatus and method for measuring the pressure distribution generated by a three-dimensional object
D'Alessio Measurement errors in the scanning of piezoresistive sensors arrays
CN102308270B (en) Capacitive proximity tactile sensor
Wertsch et al. A portable insole plantar pressure measurement system
EP2241869B1 (en) Weight measuring apparatus for use as an input device of a game apparatus
US8121800B2 (en) Capacitative node measurement in a capacitative matrix pressure inducer
Nicolopoulos et al. Evaluation of the gait analysis FSCAN pressure system: clinical tool or toy?
US20130298633A1 (en) System and method for three dimensional calibration of force plates
US20180344210A1 (en) Extensible Wearable Weight Scale and Sensor System
EP0811150B1 (en) Apparatus for detecting and displaying pressures of the foot-sole at a standstill and during movement
US11248967B2 (en) Dual-use strain sensor to detect environmental information
US20060135888A1 (en) Device for determining a value that is representative of accelerations as well as an ergometer
WO1987001574A1 (en) Evaluation of the phases of gait
EP1144970A2 (en) Miniaturised device for sensing the surface force distribution
Sergio et al. A textile-based capacitive pressure sensor
US11378477B2 (en) Apparatus for measuring surface profile of normal and shear stress
Laaraibi et al. Flexible dynamic pressure sensor for insole based on inverse viscoelastic model
JP2001029329A (en) Instrument for measuring floor reaction force
Campo et al. Instrumented insole for weight measurement of frail people
EP1074217A1 (en) Floor reaction force measuring method and apparatus therefor
ES2120860A1 (en) Electronic podometer.
Heywood et al. Tri-axial plantar pressure sensor: design, calibration and characterization
JPH0979931A (en) Method for calibrating sensitivity of pressure distribution sensor
Kalamdani et al. Robots with sensitive feet
Kalamdani Development and characterization of a high-spatial-temporal-resolution foot-sole-pressure measurement system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20010524

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI

XX Miscellaneous

Free format text: DERZEIT SIND DIE WIPO-PUBLIKATIONSDATEN A3 NICHT VERFUEGBAR.

PUAK Availability of information related to the publication of the international search report

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009015

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI

RIC1 Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant

Free format text: 7G 01L 1/20 A

RIN1 Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)

Inventor name: JABIR, SAAD

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20030401

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20031014