Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080223152 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR USING ACTIVE SURFACE COVERINGS FOR STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING - A system for structural assessment is described that comprises a plurality of sensors and a surface covering for at least a portion of a structure. The sensors are arranged in a pattern and attached to the surface covering. The surface covering is attached to a surface of a structure, and the sensors are configured to provide signals relating to the integrity of the structure to an external device. | 09-18-2008 |
20080276725 | Sensor Assembly for Measuring Forces and/or Torques and Use of Said Assembly - A sensor assembly is provided for measuring forces and/or torques which are transmitted by means of a rigid transmitter having a first part and a second part. The sensor assembly includes a first connection, a second connection, electromechanical sensor elements, a first flange, a second flange and a plurality of struts. The first and second connections are connectable to the first and second parts of the transmitter, respectively. The electromechanical sensor elements convert mechanical parameters into electrical parameters. The first flange surrounds the first connection and originates at the first connection. The second flange is aligned substantially parallel to the first flange. The second connection is arranged on the second flange and has a first surface and a second surface. The plurality of struts are substantially perpendicular to the first flange and connect the first flange to the second flange. A gap is formed between the first flange, the second flange and the struts, and is larger than a width of the struts. The electromechanical sensor elements are designed for determining strains or compressions and are arranged next to the plurality of struts on at least one of the first and second surfaces of the second flange. | 11-13-2008 |
20090049929 | Tire receiving force sensing apparatus - Each of a plurality of distance sensors is provided adjacent to a corresponding one of a plurality of displaceable portions that are displaced upon application of at least one of a brake force and a drive force to a tire. Each distance sensor measures an amount of displacement of the corresponding displaceable portion upon the application of the at least one of the brake force and the drive force to the tire. An ECU computes a target tire receiving force component based on the amounts of displacement, which are measured with the plurality of displacement measurement sensors, respectively, while eliminating an unnecessary tire receiving force component. | 02-26-2009 |
20090165569 | Tactile sensors - An electroactive polymer is used to produce a tactile sensor. The electroactive polymer (EAP) includes a sheet of an ion-exchange membrane having opposite surfaces on which are plated gold electrodes. The EAP is formed to have a dome-shape with a plurality of sensing electrodes circumferentially disposed around an outer surface of the dome. A flexible polymer underlying the EAP supports it and prevents a force applied to the tactile sensor from inverting the dome. The sensor electrodes produce separate output signals indicative of different vector components of an applied force acting on the tactile sensor, so that a direction of the force can be determined. Vias provided in the electrodes are electrically coupled to a flexible circuit that conveys the output signals externally from the sensing electrodes for use and further processing. A plurality of the tactile sensors can be formed as an array on an ion-exchange membrane. | 07-02-2009 |
20090183577 | TWO DIMENSIONAL LOAD DISTRIBUTION CENTER POSITION DETECTION SENSOR AND TWO DIMENSIONAL LOAD DISTRIBUTION CENTER POSITION DETECTION DEVICE - For manufacturing a sensor covering a free-form surface, detection elements in which the electric resistance between a first electrode and a second electrode varies when a load is acted on, and cables 12 connecting the adjoining detection elements are provided. Each cable | 07-23-2009 |
20090193910 | Method For Measuring Loads On A Friction Stir Welding Tool - An apparatus and method are provided for measuring loads on a rotating friction stir welding tool of a friction stir welding machine. The apparatus includes a frame that can be connected to the friction stir welding machine, and rollers rotatably connected to the frame are structured to contact and rotate with the friction stir welding tool. Each roller is adapted to adjust in a respective direction and communicate with a respective load cell so that the load cells detect a positional characteristic of the rollers and measure loads applied to the rotating friction stir welding tool during operation. The rollers can contact the rotating tool directly during operation of the machine, such as while the rotating tools is being moved through a workpiece to form a friction stir weld joint, to measure the loads on the tool in the direction of movement of the tool and a direction normal to the movement, i.e., the path and path normal directions. | 08-06-2009 |
20090272201 | ENHANCEMENTS TO IMPROVE THE FUNCTION OF A BIOMIMETIC TACTILE SENSOR - Tactile sensors are disclosed that mimic the human fingertip and its touch receptors. The mechanical components are similar to a fingertip, with a rigid core surrounded by a weakly conductive fluid contained within an elastomeric skin. The deformable properties of the finger pad can be used as part of a transduction process. Multiple electrodes can be mounted on the surface of the rigid core and connected to impedance measuring circuitry within the core. External forces deform the fluid path around the electrodes, resulting in a distributed pattern of impedance changes containing information about those forces and the objects that applied them. Strategies are described for extracting features related to the mechanical inputs and using this information for reflexive grip control. Controlling grip force in a prosthetic having sensory feedback information is described. Techniques are described for enhancing the useful force range for impedance sensors by internally texturing the elastomeric skin. | 11-05-2009 |
20090301221 | Method and a system for determining a plurality of load components on a wheel - The invention relates to a method and a system or determining a plurality of load components (F | 12-10-2009 |
20100018327 | LOAD DETECTING APPARATUS AND LOAD DETECTING METHOD - The present invention provides a load detecting apparatus capable of detecting load and vibration applied to a support supporting a body of a human or an animal by a load sensor provided in the support, in particular such a load detecting apparatus capable of detecting micro vibration applied to the support, with a high noise immunity. | 01-28-2010 |
20100077867 | PHALANGE TACTILE LOAD CELL - A tactile load cell that has particular application for measuring the load on a phalange in a dexterous robot system. The load cell includes a flexible strain element having first and second end portions that can be used to mount the load cell to the phalange and a center portion that can be used to mount a suitable contact surface to the load cell. The strain element also includes a first S-shaped member including at least three sections connected to the first end portion and the center portion and a second S-shaped member including at least three sections coupled to the second end portion and the center portion. The load cell also includes eight strain gauge pairs where each strain gauge pair is mounted to opposing surfaces of one of the sections of the S-shaped members where the strain gauge pairs provide strain measurements in six-degrees of freedom. | 04-01-2010 |
20100206091 | APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPONENTS OF A POINT FORCE - Apparatus for measuring components of a point force includes a first rigid member having an outer surface to receive the point force to be measured, and three spherical force transmitting elements, each of spherical or partial-spherical configuration, projecting from its inner surface, and a second rigid member having an inner surface facing the inner surface of the first member and formed with three sockets for receiving the three spherical force transmitting elements, each of the sockets includes two planar walls diverging in the direction towards the inner surface of the second member so as to be engaged by the respective spherical force transmitting element of the first member at two contact points, and to space apart the inner surfaces of the first and second members. A force sensor is located at each of the two contact points of each of the spherical force transmitting elements to sense the force applied by the respective spherical force transmitting element to each of the two planar surfaces of the second member. | 08-19-2010 |
20100257945 | Apparatus and Methods for Managing Equipment Stability - Apparatus and methods for determining the instability of equipment by measuring the reaction forces at different points at the base of the equipment are disclosed. A plurality of load sensors are symmetrically arranged at the base of the equipment. A Cartesian coordinate system is then imposed on the base of the equipment with the center of the base being the origin of the Cartesian coordinate system. The X-axis and the Y-axis of the Cartesian coordinate system are arranged to define a plane corresponding to the base of the equipment. Each load sensor is then designated with Cartesian coordinates and the reaction force at each load sensor is determined. An overall instability factor for the equipment is then determined from the Cartesian coordinates of each load sensor and the reaction force at that load sensor. | 10-14-2010 |
20100326206 | PLATFORM BALANCE - The present disclosure is directed to a platform balance that is suitable for transmitting forces and moments in a plurality of directions. The platform balance is adapted to support a test specimen, such as a large vehicle, in a test environment such as a wind tunnel. The platform balance includes a frame support and at least three spaced-apart transducers coupled to the frame support. Each of the transducers is sensitive about two orthogonal sensed axes. The transducers cooperate to provide signals indicative of forces and moments with respect to at least two orthogonal axes. Each transducer includes a transducer body having a support coupled to a sensor body along an axis of compliance. The sensor body is adapted to deflect about the two orthogonal sensed axes where the sensed axes are mutually orthogonal to the axis of compliance. | 12-30-2010 |
20110088487 | System for measuring loads during wheel/rail contact of rail vehicles - The object to configure a system for measuring loads during the wheel/rail contact of rail vehicles in such a manner that the occurring forces and/or torques can be measured in a reliable and realistic manner is solved by the present invention. Between the rail foot and the measuring device, at least one elastic element is arranged which has an elasticity which simulates the elasticity of a ballast bed. By means of the measuring system according to the invention, on the one hand, realistic conditions of a track system can be simulated and, on the other, a high metrological reproducibility of a load situation can be achieved. | 04-21-2011 |
20110100139 | MEASUREMENT OF FORCES ON PACKAGED OBJECTS - Force sensors may be useful for the measurement of forces on objects or packaging material in shipping articles during a packaging process. In some embodiments, a part of those force sensors may be similar or complementary to those objects or packaging material. Force data may be collected during packaging processes and may be used to determine conditions useful for improving those packaging processes. | 05-05-2011 |
20110107850 | 6-AXIS SENSOR STRUCTURE USING FORCE SENSOR AND METHOD OF MEASURING FORCE AND MOMENT THEREWITH - A 6-axis force sensor includes bumper | 05-12-2011 |
20110185823 | Sensor-equipped bearing for wheel - A sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly includes rolling elements ( | 08-04-2011 |
20110239783 | TWO OR THREE-AXIS SHEAR LOAD CELL - A two or three axis load cell capable of measuring axial and one or more shear forces is disclosed. The load cell can comprise a force collector connected by one or more connecting rods to one or more cross pieces. The load cell can comprise a single cross piece and can measure an axial force applied to the load cell and at least one component of shear force applied to the load cell. In other embodiments, the load cell can comprise two cross pieces, disposed at disparate angles, to enable the measurement of an axial force and both components of shear force applied to the force collector. The cross pieces are equipped with a means, such as piezoresistive elements to measure their deflection due to the applied forces on the force collector. The connecting rods can be fitted with additional piezoresistors to measure the axial forces on the force collector. | 10-06-2011 |
20110303021 | TEST FIXTURE FOR AUTOMOTIVE WIPER SYSTEMS - A test fixture is provided for automotive wiper systems. The wiper system includes a plurality of connection points and one or more wiper arm connectors. The test fixture measures forces caused by the wiper system's operation at the plurality of connection points while a resistive torque is applied to each of the wiper arm connectors. The test fixture allows for multiple attachment configurations to accommodate the many wiper system configurations that exist. | 12-15-2011 |
20120144932 | DETECTION DEVICE, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND ROBOT - A detection unit includes a sensor that detects the presence of force and a force component separation mechanism that separates the magnitude and the direction of the force and a control unit that controls the detection action of the force component separation mechanism based on the detection result of the sensor. | 06-14-2012 |
20120198944 | Articulated Load Tester - A load testing device is provided, comprising a main beam and a pair of load testing assemblies operatively connected to the main beam. Each of the load testing assemblies includes a load applying member having a first ball at its terminal end; a spreader plate pivotally attached to the first ball to establish a first ball and socket joint enabling three rotational degrees of freedom about the first ball; a bracket pivotally connected to the spreader plate, wherein the bracket further includes a second ball extending toward the main beam; an adjustment beam pivotally attached to the second ball to establish a second ball and socket joint, and wherein the adjustment beam is slidably disposed relative to the main beam and lockable in one or more predetermined positions. | 08-09-2012 |
20120260744 | MONITORING HANDRAILS TO REDUCE FALLS - A monitor, which may be closely associated with a handrail, may determine the amount of force applied to the handrail. The monitor may also determine the pattern in which force is applied to the handrail in order to assess how the user is contacting the handrail. The user's application of force to the handrail can be monitored along the course of movement along the handrail and may be compared to historical usage patterns. | 10-18-2012 |
20120291563 | Footwear Having Sensor System - An article of footwear includes an upper member and a sole structure, with a sensor system connected to the sole structure. The sensor system includes a plurality of sensors that are configured for detecting forces exerted by a user's foot on the sensor. Each sensor includes two electrodes that are in communication with a force sensitive resistive material. The electrodes and the force sensitive resistive material may have multi-lobed shapes. Additionally, the sensor system may be provided on an insert that may form a sole member of the article of footwear. The insert may have slits therethrough, and may have a defined peripheral shape. | 11-22-2012 |
20120312102 | FORCE SENSING DEVICE AND METHODS FOR PREPARING AND USES THEREOF - Disclosed are polymer nanocomposites that can serve as piezoresistive compositions. Also disclosed are sensors comprising the disclosed piezoresistive compositions and methods for using the disclosed sensors. | 12-13-2012 |
20130104669 | PRESSING FORCE INPUT DEVICE | 05-02-2013 |
20130125667 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ATTITUDE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SMALL SATELLITES - Various embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for assessing the performance of an actuator of an attitude control system (ACS), such as a control moment gyroscope (CMG). In one embodiment, a system includes a support bracket assembly coupled to an actuator, wherein the actuator is configured to generate an output torque. The system also includes at least one sensor assembly that includes a sensor configured to measure the output torque about at least one axis of the support bracket assembly while the support bracket assembly remains substantially motionless. | 05-23-2013 |
20130167658 | ASSEMBLY, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CABLE TENSION MEASUREMENT - A tension measurement assembly, for measuring and monitoring a tension force in a cable being deployed from a spooling device on which the cable is spooled, comprises at least one force sensor disposed adjacent the spooling device for sensing a force applied to the spooling device and generating a force signal representing the sensed force, and a processor responsive to the force signal for calculating and monitoring a tension force present in the cable. A cable sensor engages the deployed cable for sensing a spooling/unspooling rate and a length of the cable moving past the cable sensor in a pre-determined time period and generating a spooling signal representing the sensed rate and length to the processor for use in the calculating and monitoring of the tension force. | 07-04-2013 |
20130305841 | Universal force measurement apparatus and method - A universal force measurement apparatus has a top plate onto which a first test object is mounted. The top plate is connected to a middle plate via a sliding member, for example a linear ball slide having a one dimensional degree of freedom. A first load cell is connected to the top plate and the middle plate, hereby preventing them from moving relative to one another in the direction of the degree of freedom of the sliding member. The mid plate is then connected to a second load cell which registers forces in the vertical direction. The second load cell is also connected to a base plate which is placed on a rigid surface. Forces from another object or media acting on the first test object will now be registered by the first and second load cells in the horizontal and vertical directions. | 11-21-2013 |
20140026678 | Device Intended For Measuring Pressure From A Flexible, Foldable, And/Or Extendable Object Made Of A Textile Material And Comprising A Measurement Device - The present invention relates to a device for measuring the pressure and/or the tension exerted at different points of a flexible, foldable and/or extensible textile material capable of being used as a garment, lapel, or the like; said device is remarkable in that it includes, on the one hand, at least one sensor obtained from a single layer (1), formed of an arrangement of at least three types of fibers, piezoresistive fibers forming piezoresistive areas (2), conductive fibers forming electrically-conductive areas (3), and insulating fibers forming electrically-insulating areas (4) and, on the other hand, an electronic circuit (5) capable of measuring the electric resistance variation of the piezoresistive areas submitted to one or several forces. | 01-30-2014 |
20140033829 | FOOTCARE PRODUCT DISPENSING KIOSK - A kiosk apparatus that may select for a person a recommended footcare product based on pressure measurements collected from pressures sensors or calculated biomechanical data estimates. Pressure measurements and calculated biomechanical data estimates may be used to determine if a foot is unshod on the pressure sensor and also group a person into a classified subgroup. The pressure measurement and calculated biomechanical data estimates may also be used to select a recommended footcare product. | 02-06-2014 |
20140060207 | VERSATILE, FLEXIBLE, AND ROBUST MEMS/NEMS SENSOR FOR DECOUPLED MEASURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORCES IN AIR OR LIQUIDS - A force measuring device. The device comprises an x-axis sensor beam for measuring x-direction forces, a y-axis sensor beam for measuring y-direction forces, a z-axis sensor beam for measuring z-direction forces, and wherein the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis sensor beams are decoupled such that forces exerted by a specimen in one direction do not exert substantial forces on the other two sensor beams. | 03-06-2014 |
20140157911 | ON-BED MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RANGE OF MOTION EXERCISES WITH A PRESSURE SENSITIVE BED SHEET - A system includes a pressure sensitive material that provides an indication of applied pressure for multiple locations on the material, and an analysis device in communication with the pressure sensitive material. The analysis device receives the indication of applied pressure, determines, for each of multiple measurement periods, a pressure image from the indication of applied pressure such that a sequence of pressure images is determined, and constructs a manifold representing the sequence of pressure images. | 06-12-2014 |
20140165741 | MECHANICAL FORCE COMPONENTS SENSING SYSTEM AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD THEREOF FOR A MAGNETICALLY ENCODED DEVICE - A system includes a device and a contactless inductive force sensing system. The device includes a first band having a first magnetically encoded region with a first magnetic polarity spaced apart from a second magnetically encoded region having a second magnetic polarity. The device further includes a second band having a third magnetically encoded region with the second magnetic polarity spaced apart from a fourth magnetically encoded region having the first magnetic polarity. The contactless inductive force sensing system is used for measuring one or more mechanical force components of the device and generating a mechanical force component signal. | 06-19-2014 |
20140202259 | DETECTION DEVICE, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND ROBOT - A detection unit includes a sensor that detects the presence of force and a force component separation mechanism that separates the magnitude and the direction of the force and a control unit that controls the detection action of the force component separation mechanism based on the detection result of the sensor. | 07-24-2014 |
20140260675 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING TACTILE INFORMATION - An apparatus and method for measuring a tactile information, using a material having variable pressure dependent properties is disclosed. The apparatus for measuring the tactile information may include a plurality of pressure measurement units to measure a magnitude of an external pressure using a material having variable properties, and a tactile information measurement unit to measure a three-dimensional (3D) tactile information based on the external pressure using a location of the plurality of pressure measurement units and a pressure measured by the plurality of pressure measurement units. | 09-18-2014 |
20140260676 | Sensor Assembly and Method for Measuring Forces and Torques - A sensor assembly comprises a base plate and a sensor member displaceable relative to the base plate. A spring arrangement operates in first and second stages in response to displacement of the sensor member relative to the base plate. Different resolutions of force and torque measurements are associated with the first and second stages. A light sensitive transducer senses displacement of the sensor member relative to the base plate and generates corresponding output signals. A collimator directs a plurality of light beams onto the light sensitive transducer so that the light beams strike different pixels of the light sensitive transducer to sense displacement of the sensor member relative to the base plate. | 09-18-2014 |
20140298921 | HIGH-RESOLUTION FLEXIBLE TACTILE IMAGER SYSTEM BASED ON FLOATING COMB ELECTRODE - A flexible tactile imager includes an array of sensing cells that measure shear force and normal force. The sensing cells include a first sub-cell and a second sub-cell. Each sub-cell includes multi-fingered capacitors configured to measure shear force in a first or second direction and to measure the normal force. The multi-fingered capacitors include a flexible printed circuit board, a comb-like fingered sense electrode and drive electrode patterned on a layer of the flexible printed circuit board, a deformable dielectric material positioned above the comb-like fingered sense and drive electrodes, the comb-like fingered floating electrode patterned above the deformable dielectric material, a first capacitance formed between the comb-like fingered sense electrode and the comb-like fingered floating electrode, and a second capacitance formed between the comb-like fingered drive electrode and the comb-like fingered floating electrode. | 10-09-2014 |
20140318270 | DETECTION DEVICE, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND ROBOT - A detection device includes a first substrate having a plurality of force sensors disposed around respective reference points, and a second substrate on which is formed elastic protrusions whose centers of gravity are positioned in positions that overlap with respective reference points and that elastically deform due to the force in a state in which the tips of the elastic protrusions make contact with the first substrate. The second substrate is an elastic material having a predetermined elasticity. | 10-30-2014 |
20140338468 | NUMERICAL CONTROL DEVICE HAVING FUNCTION OF ESTIMATING EXPIRATION OF LIFE OF BEARING SUPPORTING SPINDLE - A numerical control device determines whether or not a spindle is in a cutting state where it machines a workpiece. If the spindle is in a cutting state, the numerical control device calculates a second rotational speed, which is obtained by multiplying a rotational speed of the spindle by a weight corresponding to a force on the spindle calculated based on a torque of a feed shaft, and integrates the calculated value into an index value. If the spindle is not in the cutting state, the numerical control device integrates the rotational speed of the spindle into the index value. The lifetime of a bearing is estimated based on the index value. | 11-20-2014 |
20140366645 | FORCE SENSING KICKBOXING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - A force sensing kickboxing apparatus and methods of manufacture are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a body including an externally facing first side and an internally facing second side, an electronic device connected to the body and configured to provide information associated with the body, a sensor housing attached to a portion of the second side of the body forming a pocket between the sensor housing and the portion of the internally facing second side, and a sensor positioned within the pocket and communicatively coupled to the electronic device, the sensor configured to detect an object contacting a portion of the first side of the body in proximity to the sensor. | 12-18-2014 |
20150033875 | Two-Axis Sensor Body For A Load Transducer - In one aspect, a transducer body includes a support having clevis halves. The sensor body includes a generally rigid peripheral member disposed about a spaced-apart central hub joined to each of the clevis halves. At least three flexure components couple the peripheral member to the hub. The flexure components are spaced-apart from each other at generally equal angle intervals about the hub; the sensor body further including a flexure assembly for some flexure components joining the flexure component to at least one of the hub and the peripheral member, the flexure assembly being compliant for forces in a radial direction from the hub to the peripheral member. Each flexure assembly is configured such that forces transferred concentrate strain at a midpoint along the length of each corresponding flexure component. | 02-05-2015 |
20150292969 | CAPACITIVE TYPE 6-AXIAL FORCE/TORQUE SENSOR - A capacitive type sensor includes a circuit board, electrodes formed on a first surface of the circuit board, and an electrode plate disposed above the circuit board, wherein the electrodes comprise pairs of electrodes disposed from a distance from a center of the circuit board, and the pairs of electrodes being spaced apart from each other. | 10-15-2015 |
20150362389 | PRESSURE SENSING APPARATUS - A pressure sensing apparatus configured to prevent pressure detection for pressures not breaching a threshold. The pressure sensing apparatus may include a first support, a second support, a sensor contact element, a compressible spacer, a pressure sensor, and/or other components. The sensor contact element may be attached to the first support. The pressure sensor may be attached to the second support. The sensor contact element and the pressure sensor may be positioned such that they oppose one another. The compressible spacer may be positioned between the first support and second support. The first support and second support may be spaced at distance substantially equal to a thickness of the compressible spacer. The compressible spacer may encircle the sensor contact element and the pressure sensor. | 12-17-2015 |
20160103037 | METHOD AND DATA PROCESSING DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A SPACING OF ROLLING ELEMENTS - A method for detecting roller spacings in a roller bearing having at least one row of rollers wherein the rollers in the row are held by at least one cage, preferably by a plurality of roller cages. The method uses roller load induced strain signals for determining the roller spacings. | 04-14-2016 |
20160146679 | ARRANGEMENTS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING A FORCE OR A TORQUE ON A MACHINE ELEMENT - The present invention relates to arrangements for measuring a force and/or a torque on a machine element ( | 05-26-2016 |
20160178458 | Spring body for a force transducer, such as a torque-and/or tension/compression-force measuring cell | 06-23-2016 |