Patent ID: 6628124
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: G01D,G01L

Abstract:
An electrocapacitive force measuring apparatus comprising:a sensor unit including an integral body made of a hard material, said integral body having a resiliently deforming portion which is deformed in a bending fashion by an application of a force to be measured and has a first surface, and a base portion having such a rigidity that the base portion is not deformed by said force and having a second surface which is opposed to said first surface of the resiliently deforming portion via a gap; first and second electrodes provided on said first and second surfaces of the resiliently deforming portion and base portion of said sensor unit, respectively; first and second input terminals connected to said first and second electrodes, respectively; and a measuring circuit connected to said first and second input terminals and including an inductor which is connected to a capacitor formed by said first and second electrodes in a serial or parallel manner to form a resonance circuit, said force applied to said resiliently deforming portion being measured as a change in a resonance frequency of said resonance circuit, wherein a probe is secured to a front end of said resiliently deforming portion, said probe supporting a sample producing the force to be measured.