Patent ID: 9677952
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: G01L,G06F,H01L,Y10T

Claim:
1. An apparatus comprising: an interface layer configured and arranged to flex in response to an input signal presented to the interface in the form of pressure; an elastomer including a plurality of elastomer regions separated by one another by gaps, wherein at least one of the plurality of elastomer regions has at least one cross-section of less than 50 microns in terms of width dimension, and is shaped and sized to compress at the cross-section thereof and thereby exhibits a changed dielectric constant in response to an applied pressure or a change in pressure of less than 1 kPa, and the plurality of elastomer regions have width and thickness dimensions and are configured and arranged to, in response to an application of pressure or a change in pressure exhibit a changed dielectric constant corresponding to a state of compression of the elastomer; and a sense circuit, including a portion of the elastomer, configured and arranged to respond to the changed dielectric constant by providing an electrical output indicative of the pressure applied or the change in pressure applied to the elastomer.