| US 7,594,445 B2 | ||
| Force sensor | ||
| Yusuke Hirabayashi, Wako (Japan); Takeshi Ohsato, Wako (Japan); Nobuhiro Sakurai, Wako (Japan); Shigenori Yasuie, Wako (Japan); and Hiroshi Yokobayashi, Wako (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 28, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/475,957. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. P2005-189017 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0006668 A1, Jan. 11, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01D 7/00 (2006.01); G01L 1/22 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 73—862.044 [73/862.041] | 10 Claims |
| 1. A force sensor comprising:
a force sensor chip having an active sensing portion to which a force is applied, a support portion for supporting the active
sensing portion, and a force detector for detecting the force between the active sensing portion and the support portion;
and
a buffering device for dampening and applying the imparted external force to the force sensor chip,
wherein the buffering device comprises:
an input portion to which the external force is input;
a sensor mount for fixing the force sensor chip;
a dampening mechanism for dampening the external force; and
a transmission portion for transmitting the dampened external force to the active sensing
wherein the damping mechanism includes a plurality of structures each having a bifurcated shape, and
wherein the bifurcated structures are spaced apart from each other on a periphery of the input portion and the sensor mount.
|