Importance

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Abstract

A force-responsive sensor comprises upper and lower cover layers, the upper layer being resilient and flexible and shown as transparent for ease of illustration. An electrically conductive layer carries separate individual electrically insulating spacers which separate it from two electrically conductive members. Each of these members has a plurality of spaced resilient fingers, the fingers of the two members being inter-digitated. The members are formed as films on the layer. Where the members are not supported by the spacers, they are normally held apart from the conductive layer by the resilience of the upper layer. In response to an applied force, one or more of the fingers is pressed into contact with the conductive layer to enable the production of a corresponding electrical signal. The positioning of the spacers ensures that they do not increase the overall width of the sensor. A force applied by a relatively large-area flat object is transmitted by a protruberance to one of the fingers. There may be a plurality of protruberances spaced apart along the sensor. The sensor may be used in a safety system for detecting obstructions in a window opening having a motor-slidable window glass.

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First Claim