Patent ID: 6222522
Filing Date: 2001-04-24
Classification: G10H

Abstract:
A position sensor, comprising:a moveable positioning member that generates a signal at a specified position in space, the position being specifiable with respect to X, Y and Z axes;antennae comprising a flat support member having a first surface with at least two pairs of electrodes mounted on the first surface of the flat support member, a first pair of the electrodes comprising complementary wedge shaped electrodes positioned adjacent to each other so that capacitive coupling between the moveable positioning member and the first electrode pair corresponds to the position of the moveable positioning member with respect to the X axis and does not depend on the position of the moveable positioning member with respect to the Y axis, and a second pair of the electrodes comprising complementary rectangular shaped electrodes positioned adjacent to each other so that capacitive coupling between the moveable positioning member and the second electrode pair corresponds to the position of the moveable positioning member with respect to the Y axis and does not depend on the position of the moveable positioning member with respect to the X axis; anda computation module for receiving signals from the electrodes, for computing X and Y position values of the moveable positioning member, and for computing a Z position value which is inversely proportional to the sum of the received signals.