| IEE INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS & ENGINEERING S.A. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20110267300 | TOUCHPAD WITH STRIP-SHAPED INPUT AREA - A touchpad with an input area having a straight or curved main line of extension comprises a support element, a cover having a first surface facing away from the support element and a second surface facing towards the support element and one or more spacers arranged at a periphery of the input area. The one or more spacers mount the cover on the support element in such a way that the cover spans over the support plate in the input area while it is depressible towards the support element by a force acting on the input area of the touchpad. A resistive trace is so arranged on the support element that it extends along the main line of extension of the input area. At least one terminal contacts the resistive trace at a particular point of the main line of extension of the input area and a set of detection electrodes is arranged on the second surface of the cover in facing relationship with the resistive trace. The detection electrodes are configured and arranged for capacitively detecting a position of a user's finger or stylus when the user's finger or stylus is in proximity of or in light touch with the first surface of the cover, and for resistively detecting a position of a user's finger or stylus when the user's finger or stylus depresses the cover and so brings at least one of the detection electrodes into electrical contact with the resistive trace. | 11-03-2011 |
| 20110260050 | DIFFERENTIAL MOBILITY SPECTROMETER AND OPERATING METHOD THEREFOR - A method of operating a differential mobility spectrometer includes an ionization chamber, a filter channel and a detection region. In the ionization chamber, analyte ions are produced from a sample, the so-obtained ions are then subjected in the filter channel to a time-varying electric field. The time-varying electric field has a longitudinal field component drawing the analyte ions from the ionization chamber through the filter channel into the detection region and a transversal field component, which is the superposition of an asymmetrically oscillating transversal field causing the analyte ions to move to and fro in transversal direction and a compensation field for selecting a species of analyte ions by substantially canceling the average transversal velocity of the selected species. Analyte ions of the selected species having passed through the filter channel are collected in the detection region and a detection signal responsive to the number of analyte ions collected is generated as a function of the compensating field. The longitudinal field component oscillates in longitudinal direction in such a way that it imparts to the analyte ions on average a non-zero longitudinal velocity in direction of the detection region while it causes them, on a shorter time scale, to move to and fro in longitudinal direction in the filter channel. | 10-27-2011 |
| 20110205340 | 3D TIME-OF-FLIGHT CAMERA SYSTEM AND POSITION/ORIENTATION CALIBRATION METHOD THEREFOR - A camera system comprises a 3D TOF camera for acquiring a camera-perspective range image of a scene and an image processor for processing the range image. The image processor contains a position and orientation calibration routine implemented therein in hardware and/or software, which position and orientation calibration routine, when executed by the image processor, detects one or more planes within a range image acquired by the 3D TOF camera, selects a reference plane among the at least one or more planes detected and computes position and orientation parameters of the 3D TOF camera with respect to the reference plane, such as, e.g., elevation above the reference plane and/or camera roll angle and/or camera pitch angle. | 08-25-2011 |
| 20110180343 | OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM - An occupant classification system for a vehicle comprises a radio-frequency (RF) transmitter unit, which includes a transmission RF antenna and an RF generator operatively connected to the transmission RF antenna. The RF generator and the transmission RF antenna are configured for generating radio waves at a certain fixed RF frequency in the Very High Frequency (VHF) range or the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) range. During operation of the RF transmitter unit, the generated radio waves propagate from the transmission RF antenna. The occupant classification system further comprises an RF detector for detecting, at the fixed RF frequency, an influence of an occupant on the radio waves propagating from the transmission RF antenna. | 07-28-2011 |
| 20110174553 | UPHOLSTERY ITEM COMPRISING OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT - An upholstery item ( | 07-21-2011 |
| 20110018967 | RECORDING OF 3D IMAGES OF A SCENE - A method of recording 3D images of a scene based on the time-of-flight principle comprises illuminating a scene by emitting light carrying an intensity modulation, imaging the scene onto a pixel array using an optical system, detecting, in each pixel, intensity-modulated light reflected from the scene onto the pixel and determining, for each pixel, a distance value based on the phase of light detected in the pixel. The determination of the distance values comprises a phase-sensitive de-convolution of the scene imaged onto the pixel array such that phase errors induced by light spreading in the optical system are compensated for. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110018506 | H-BRIDGE CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SUCH CIRCUIT - A H-bridge circuit for supplying a load with a defined current comprises a first transistor for coupling a first terminal of the load to a positive potential of a power source; a second transistor for coupling the first terminal of the load to a negative potential of the power source; a third transistor for coupling a second terminal of the load to the positive potential of the power source; and a fourth transistor for coupling the second terminal of the load to the negative potential of the power source. The circuit further comprises a current sensing circuitry for sensing a current flowing through the load and for generating a voltage signal representative of the current, and a control circuit for individually controlling the operation of the first, second, third and fourth transistors by respective first, second, third and fourth control signals. The control circuit is configured for operating two transistors of the first, second, third and fourth transistors in switching mode and the remaining two transistors in linear mode. Each of the linear mode transistors has a feedback circuit associated therewith, which is operatively coupled to the control circuit and to the current sensing circuitry. Each such feedback circuit comprises a resistive element coupled between the gate/base of the associated linear mode transistor and the power source. The feedback circuits comprise a feedback transistor coupled between the gate/base of the associated linear mode transistor and the current sensing circuitry, the base/gate of the feedback transistor being connected to the control circuit for receiving the control signal for the associated linear mode transistor. The feedback transistor controls the voltage on the gate/base of the associated linear mode transistor so that a difference between the voltage signal of said current sensing circuitry and the respective control signal from said control circuit is maintained at a constant level | 01-27-2011 |
| 20100305816 | OCCUPANT DETECTION SYSTEM FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE - An automotive vehicle includes an occupant detection system ( | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100295563 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING AN OCCUPANT IN A VEHICLE SEAT - An occupant detection system comprises an electrode arrangement for placement into a seat of an automotive vehicle and an evaluation circuit operatively connected to the electrode arrangement. The latter includes a first electrode for emitting an electric field into a detection region above the vehicle seat, a second electrode and an electric insulator layer sandwiched between the first and second electrodes. When the electrode arrangement is in place in the seat, the first electrode forms with vehicle ground a first capacitor having a first capacitance, which is influenceable by an occupying item in the detection region through interaction of the occupying item with the electric field, the first electrode forms with the second electrode a second capacitor having a second capacitance and the second electrode forms with at least one of vehicle ground and a third electrode a third capacitor having a third capacitance. As a first indicator of the seat occupancy state, a measure of the first capacitance is determined while the first electrode is caused to emit an electric field into said detection region and the second electrode is operated as a driven shield for the first electrode. The fluctuations of at least one of the first, second and third capacitances are measured and the frequency spectrum of the measured fluctuations is analysed, which yields a second indicator of the occupancy state. The derivation of the occupancy state of the seat is then based on both the first indicator and the second indicator. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20100294640 | FOIL-TYPE SWITCHING ELEMENT, IN PARTICULAR FOR USE IN COLLISION DETECTION SYSTEMS - A foil-type switching element comprises a first carrier foil and a second carrier foil arranged at a certain distance from each other by means of a spacer, which comprises one opening ( | 11-25-2010 |
| 20100283888 | METHOD FOR CONTAMINATION DETECTION IN A TOF RANGE CAMERA - A method for contamination detection in a time-of-flight (TOF) range imaging system is described, wherein the TOF range imaging system receives light reflected from a scene, through an optical interface, on an imager sensor having an array of pixels, and wherein distance information and amplitude information are determined for the sensor pixels. The presence of contamination on the optical interface is determined on the basis of amplitude information determined for the sensor pixels. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100282585 | FILM-TYPE SWITCHING ELEMENT - “A film-type switching element includes a first carrier film, a second carrier film and a spacer that separates the carrier films a certain distance apart from one another, where the spacer includes a spacer film, which is arranged between and attached to the first and second carrier films, and whose thickness corresponds to the distance between the carrier films, the spacer has an opening therein, which extends between the first and second carrier films and defines the active zone of the film-type switching element, in which the first and second carrier films may be resiliently brought together in response to compressive force acting on the film-type switching element, where a contact arrangement having at least a first and a second electrode is arranged in the active zone on at least one of the first and second carrier films in such a way that an electric contact is established between the first and second electrodes when the first and second carrier films are brought together, the spacer including a frame element, separate from the spacer film, that circumferentially borders the opening, and that is held in place by a border of the spacer film turned towards the opening and at least one of the first and second carrier films.” | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100280717 | SENSING SYSTEM FOR MONITORING A PREDETERMINED SPACE - A sensing system ( | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100277186 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING AN OCCUPANCY STATE OF A VEHICLE SEAT - In an occupant detection system, which comprises an electrode arrangement for being placed into the seat of an automotive vehicle, the electrode arrangement including an antenna electrode for emitting an electric field into a detection region above the vehicle seat, and an evaluation circuit operatively connected to the antenna electrode, the evaluation circuit is configured and arranged so as to measure a capacitance influenceable by an occupying item in the detection region through interaction of the occupying item with the electric field. The evaluation circuit is further configured and arranged so as to determine fluctuations of the measured capacitance; analyse a frequency spectrum of the fluctuations; and derive an occupancy state of the vehicle seat based on both the measured capacitance and the frequency spectrum. | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100188242 | AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE WITH SYSTEM FOR DETECTING THE PROXIMITY OF AN OCCUPANT - An automotive vehicle has arranged therein a vehicle seat and is equipped with an occupant detection system for detecting whether an occupant is present on the vehicle seat, the system including a first antenna electrode arranged in the seat and a first sensing circuit associated with the seat, where the first sensing circuit includes an oscillation circuit operatively connected to the first antenna electrode for applying to the first antenna electrode a first oscillating signal and a first current detection circuit connected to the first antenna electrode for determining a current flowing into the first antenna electrode in response to the first oscillating signal being applied thereto, where the current flowing in the first antenna electrode indicates whether an occupant is present on the vehicle seat, and when in operation, the first sensing circuit codes the information whether an occupant is present on the vehicle seat into a first output signal which is output and which may be supplied to a restraint system control unit, the vehicle being further equipped with an appliance including an appliance control device arranged in the vehicle compartment at a location where an occupant of the seat can interact with it, a second antenna electrode is arranged with the appliance control device and a second sensing circuit is associated therewith, where the second sensing circuit is separate from the first sensing circuit and includes an electric signal detection circuit connected to the second antenna electrode and configured for determining an electric signal induced in the second antenna electrode in response to an electric field, which is radiated from an antenna electrode in the vehicle seat, being capacitively coupled into the second antenna electrode, the electric signal induced in the second antenna electrode indicates whether an occupant of the vehicle seat has a part of their body proximate to the appliance control device, and, when in operation, the second sensing circuit codes the information whether an occupant of the vehicle seat has a part of their body proximate to the appliance control device into a second output signal and outputs the second output signal. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100127877 | CHILD SEAT SENSOR ANTENNA - A child seat sensor antenna structure to be integrated into a vehicle seat comprises at least one at least partially self-supporting antenna wire or cable. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100107770 | CAPACITIVE PRESSURE SENSOR - A capacitive pressure includes a laminated arrangement with a first flexible, electrically insulating carrier film carrying a first capacitor electrode, a second flexible, electrically insulating carrier film carrying a second capacitor electrode and a flexible, electrically insulating spacer film sandwiched between the first and second carrier films, where the spacer film has a through-hole or recess therein, with respect to which the first and second capacitor electrodes are arranged opposite one another, in such a way that the first and second electrodes are brought closer together by resilient bending of the first and/or second carrier film into the through-hole or recess under the action of a compressive force acting on the pressure sensor. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20090319451 | PATTERN CLASSIFICATION METHOD - For assigning a test pattern to a class chosen from a predefined set of classes, the class membership probability for the test pattern is calculated as well as the confidence interval for the class membership probability based upon a number of training patterns in a neighbourhood of the test pattern in the feature space. The number of training patterns in the neighbourhood of the test pattern is obtained from computing a convolution of a density function of the training patterns with a Gaussian smoothing function centred on the test pattern, where the density function of the training patterns is represented as a mixture of Gaussian functions. The convolution of the smoothing function and the mixture of Gaussian functions can be expressed analytically. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090250593 | SAFETY SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE WITH OPTICAL SIGNAL TRANSMISSION - A safety system for a vehicle is provided, which comprises signalling means associated with a seat of the vehicle for emitting an optically detectable signal carrying information related to the seat and detecting means for remotely detecting the optically detectable signal and for providing a corresponding signal to a control unit. | 10-08-2009 |
| 20090201163 | CHILD SEAT SENSOR - A child seat sensor ( | 08-13-2009 |
| 20090194406 | CAPACITIVE OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM - An occupant classification system for a vehicle seat includes an electrode arrangement for being integrated into a seating portion of the seat, which electrode arrangement includes a sensing electrode, a shielding electrode and an insulating layer sandwiched between the sensing electrode and the shielding electrode. The electrode arrangement is provided with at least one local test region, the electrode arrangement includes means for enhancing, inside the at least one test region with respect to outside the at least one test region, electrolytic conduction between the sensing electrode and the shielding electrode, under moist environmental conditions. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090167067 | CHILD SEAT PRESENCE AND/OR ORIENTATION DETECTION SYSTEM - A child seat presence and/or orientation detection system for detecting, on a vehicle seat, presence and/or orientation of a transponder-equipped child seat includes a loop-shaped transmission antenna for transmitting an electromagnetic excitation field and a loop-shaped reception antenna for receiving an electromagnetic response field emitted by a transponder of a child seat in response to the electromagnetic excitation field; the loop-shaped transmission antenna surrounds a first, the loop-shaped reception antenna a second area; the second area includes an overlap area with the first area; the second area also includes a non-overlap area with the first area, i.e. an area which is part of the second area but does not overlap with the first area, such that the magnetic flux caused by the loop-shaped transmission antenna in the non-overlap area is of opposite sign with respect to the magnetic flux caused by the loop-shaped transmission antenna in the overlap area. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090129628 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSITION OF AN OBJECT FROM A DIGITAL IMAGE - Method for determining the position of an object point in a scene from a digital image thereof acquired through an optical system is presented. The image comprises a set of image points corresponding to object points and the position of the object points are determined by means of predetermined vectors associated with the image points. The predetermined vector represents the inverted direction of a light ray in the object space that will produce this image point through the optical system comprising all distortion effects of the optical system. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090102476 | MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR - A magnetic field sensor comprises a first and a second carrier foil and a spacer arranged there between. The spacer delimits a sensing region of the sensor in which the first and second carrier foils can be brought together against the their resiliency. At least two electrodes are arranged in the sensing region in such a way that an electrical contact is provided between them when the first and second carrier foils are brought together. The magnetic field sensor further comprises additional magnetisable layer associated with the first or the second carrier foil so that the first and second carrier foils can be brought together in response to a magnetic field. | 04-23-2009 |
| 20090057109 | COLLISION RECOGNITION DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE - A collision recognition device for a vehicle is proposed, comprising a pressure sensor with a first electrode and a second electrode, both having first and second ends, the second end of the first electrode being connected to a first terminal of a first resistor, the second end of the second electrode being connected to a first terminal of a second resistor During use, a first voltage V | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090038930 | FOIL-TYPE SWITCHING ELEMENT WITH ENHANCED CARRIER FOIL - A pressure sensor comprises at least one first carrier foil, which is mounted on a supporting element so as to span an active area of said pressure sensor. According to the invention said first carrier foil comprises a material chosen from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polysulfone, polycarbonate, copolycarbonate, polyphenylene ether, cyclo-olefin-polymer, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate/polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate/polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene ether/polyamide, or mixtures thereof. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090030577 | Seat Occupancy Sensor Assembly - An occupancy sensor assembly with a variable-resistance seat occupancy sensor comprises an adapter circuit for connecting the occupancy sensor to a control unit. The adapter circuit includes switching means for switching, between discrete states and as a function of resistance of the seat occupancy sensor, a current drawn from the control unit by the assembly. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090015368 | DATA INPUT DEVICE WITH ENCODING OF ACTIVATION DIRECTION - A data input device includes a first electrode structure having a first collector electrode and a first plurality of finger electrodes extending from the first collector electrode and a second electrode structure including a second collector electrode and a second plurality of finger electrodes extending from the second collector electrode, the first and second electrode structures being arranged on a first carrier layer in such a way, that in an active area of the data input device, the first plurality of finger electrodes extend between the second plurality in an interdigitating arrangement. The device further including at least one shunting element arranged in the active area of the data input device on a second carrier layer in facing relationship to the interdigitating arrangement of the first and second plurality of finger electrodes such that, if the first and second carrier layers are pressed together in response to a force acting on the data input device, the at least one shunting element establishes an electrical contact between respective adjacent finger electrodes of the first and the second plurality of finger electrodes. According to the invention at least one of the first electrode structure, second electrode structure or shunting element including at least one series of resistive patches having different electrical resistances, the resistive patches of the at least one series being arranged along the active area in an order of increasing electrical resistance in such a way that the electrical resistance between respective terminals of the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure varies monotonically if an activation of the input device propagates monotonically along the series of resistive patches. | 01-15-2009 |
| 20090013802 | PRESSURE SENSING MAT - A generally flexible pressure sensing mat for a vehicle seat includes a first carrier foil and a second carrier foil arranged at a certain distance from each other by means of a spacer. The mat includes a plurality of cells, each cell being defined by a respective opening of the spacer. In each cell, at least two electrodes are arranged between the first and second carrier foils and, in response to pressure acting on the pressure sensing mat at a cell, the first and second carrier foils are pressed together against the reaction force of the carrier foils thereby causing variation of an electrical resistance between the at least two electrodes of the cell. The pressure sensing mat includes at least one rigidifying element, the least one rigidifying element being associated to an individual cell for locally reducing flexibility of the pressure sensing mat at the individual cell. | 01-15-2009 |
| 20090001983 | Magnetic Field Sensing Element - A magnetic field sensing element includes a pair of electrodes; a dielectric polymer layer separating the electrodes; and a network of magnetic nanoparticles in the insulating layer forming a current flow path between the electrodes; where the network of magnetic nanoparticles includes at least one magnetic tunnel junction involving two neighbouring nanoparticles of different coercivity. | 01-01-2009 |
| 20080278287 | Rfid Transceiver Unit - An RFID transceiver unit ( | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080266070 | Classification Method for Pedestrian Protection System - In order to provide a fast and reliable classification of an impact, the present invention proposes a method for the classification of an impact between an object and a vehicle, comprising the steps of detecting an initial contact between said object and said vehicle; recording a width data relating to a width of an impact zone between the object and the vehicle; processing said width data for determining the width of said impact zone a predetermined time interval after the initial contact; forming a first criterion for deciding whether the object is a pedestrian by identifying if the determined width of the impact zone lies between predetermined lower and upper first threshold values; determining that the object is human if said first criterion is met. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20080262753 | Foil-Type Pressure Sensor and Method for Evaluating the Sensor Response - A method for determining an occupancy related status relating to a vehicle seat by means of a foil-type pressure sensing mat comprises the steps of determining a raw sensor resistance value of said plurality of pressure sensing cells, determining a raw compensation resistance value of said at least one compensation resistance, calculating a compensated sensor resistance value based on said raw sensor resistance value and said raw compensation resistance value, and determining said occupancy related status based on said compensated sensor resistance value. According to the invention said step of calculating a compensated sensor resistance value comprises the steps of obtaining a corrected compensation resistance value by applying a correction term to said raw compensation resistance value, said correction term being determined by production tolerances of said compensation resistance, and calculating said compensated sensor resistance value based on said raw sensor resistance value and said corrected compensation resistance value. | 10-23-2008 |
| 20080252211 | Electroluminescent Lamp - An EL lamp includes a substrate, which is transparent in at least a light-emitting region and an electrode assembly with a transparent electrode layer and a back electrode layer, which face each other in the light-emitting region. A phosphorescent layer and a dielectric layer are arranged between the transparent electrode layer and the back electrode layer. A first connection line is provided for connecting the transparent electrode to a driver circuit and a second connection line is provided for connecting the back electrode to a driver circuit. According to an important aspect of the invention, the EL lamp comprises an insulating layer for insulating the second connection line at least locally from the back electrode and/or, if the transparent electrode extends into a peripheral region of the EL lamp, for insulating the second connection line from the transparent electrode. | 10-16-2008 |
| 20080252117 | Seat Foam with Sensor Mat - In an assembly of a seat foam and a sensor mat, the seat foam has at least one incision and the sensor mat has at least one anchor tab adapted to be inserted into the at least one incision, thereby securely holding the sensor mat on a surface of the seat foam, where the seat foam includes at least one retaining element at the incision for retaining the anchor tab in the incision. | 10-16-2008 |
| 20080239280 | Method and Device for 3D Imaging - “A method for 3D imaging of an actively illuminated target region includes emitting intensity-modulated light at a variable modulation frequency into the target region, the emitted light is scattered/reflected in the target region depending on the optical properties of the objects or beings present therein, a scattered and/or reflected fraction of the light is detected during an integration time interval by phase-sensitive integration in each pixel of an imaging sensor, the modulation phase between the emitted and the detected light is determined and spatially resolved, and distance information is calculated based on the spatially resolved modulation phase and an average frequency of the modulation frequency.” | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080230361 | Reinforced Foil-Type Switching Element - A foil-type switching element comprises a first carrier foil and a second carrier foil arranged at a certain distance from each other by means of a spacer, said spacer comprising at least one recess defining an active area of the switching element. At least two electrodes are arranged in the active area of the switching element between said first and second carrier foils in such a way that, in re-sponse to a pressure acting on the active area of the switching element, the first and second carrier foils are pressed together against the reaction force of the elastic carrier foils and an electrical contact is established between the at least two electrodes. According to the invention said spacer comprises at least one first reinforcement layer. | 09-25-2008 |
| 20080224029 | Foil-Type Pressure Sensor - A foil-type pressure sensor includes a first foil and a second foil. A spacer is arranged in between the first and second foils, which keeps the foils at a certain distance from each other. The spacer presents an opening that defines a sensing region. In this sensing region, the first and second foils can be brought closer one to the other against the resiliency of the foils by pressure acting on the pressure sensor. The pressure sensor further includes light emitting means arranged between the foils for inputting light into the sensing region and light collecting means arranged between the foils for collecting light propagated from the light emitting means through at least part of the sensing region to the light collecting means. When the first and second foils are brought closer one to the other, at least one of the first and the second foils at least partially blocks light propagation through the sensing region. | 09-18-2008 |
| 20080210020 | Impact Sensor System For Pedestrian Protection - An impact sensor system for pedestrian protection comprises at least one foil-type switching element having a plurality of active areas. The foil-type switching element comprises at least a first carrier foil and a second carrier foil arranged at a certain distance by means of at least one first spacer, wherein said at least one first spacer comprises a plurality of recesses defining at least a first part of said active areas. In each active area, at least two electrode structures are arranged between said first and second carrier foils in such way that in re-sponse to a force acting on the active area of the switching element, the first and second carrier foils are pressed together against the reaction force of the elastic carrier foils and that, above a predetermined activation threshold force, an electrical contact is established between the at least two electrode struc-tures. According to the invention said foil-type switching element is configured such that the activation threshold force of a first group of said plurality of active areas is different from an activation threshold force of a second group of said plurality of active areas. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080202251 | Capacitive pressure sensor - A capacitive pressure comprises a laminated arrangement with a first flexible, electrically insulating carrier film carrying a first capacitor electrode, a second flexible, electrically insulating carrier film carrying a second capacitor electrode and a flexible, electrically insulating spacer film sandwiched between the first and second carrier films. The spacer film has a through-hole or recess therein, with respect to which the first and second capacitor electrodes are arranged opposite one another, in such a way that the first and second electrodes are brought closer together by resilient bending of the first and/or second carrier film into the through-hole or recess under the action of a compressive force acting on the pressure sensor. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20080197011 | Foil-Type Pressure Sensor Adapted For Minimizing Critical Preload Issues - A foil-type switching element comprises a first carrier foil and a second carrier foil arranged at a certain distance by means of an inner spacer. The inner spacer comprises at least one cut-out defining an active area of said switching element where at least two electrode structures are arranged between said first and second carrier foil so as to define at least one pair of spaced switch contacts. According to the invention, the switching element further comprises a first outer spacer layer, said first outer spacer layer being arranged on an outer surface of said first carrier foil and said first outer spacer layer comprising at least one opening in the region of said active area. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the foil-type switching element further comprises a second outer spacer layer, said second outer spacer layer being arranged on an outer surface of said second carrier foil and said second outer spacer layer comprising at least one opening in the region of said active area. | 08-21-2008 |
