Patent ID: 9727031
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: G05B,G06F,H03K

Claim:
1. A pressure sensor for sending a plurality of control messages to a system controller, the pressure sensor comprising: a base; at least a first conductor and a second conductor; a pressure sensitive material supported by the base and at least partially intervening between the first and second conductors and having a composition configured to continuously change at least one electrical property of the pressure sensitive material in response to an applied force, wherein a conductive or electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor is configured to change based on a change in the at least one electrical property of the pressure sensitive material, and wherein the conductive or electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor is further configured to change based on a material, physical dimension, or arrangement of at least one of the first conductor, the second conductor, or the pressure sensitive material; a memory; a clock; and a processor connected in communication with the first and second conductors, the memory and the clock, the processor configured to determine a first electrical property of the pressure sensitive material using the first and second conductors and associate the first electrical property with a time from the clock and to write the first electrical property associated with the time to the memory; the processor further configured to read the first electrical property and the time from the memory and to calculate a time-based change in the first electrical property; the processor further configured to correlate the time-based change in the first electrical property with at least one of the control messages and to communicate the at least one of the control messages to the system controller, wherein the at least one electrical property is resistance, wherein resistance values of the pressure sensitive material define a predictable resistance-force response curve in response to varying amounts of applied force, and wherein the resistance values of the pressure sensitive material vary between 10