Patent ID: 7791151

Claim:
A three-dimensional force input control device for inputting analog mechanical signals into a digital processing system comprising: a sensor die formed within a semiconductor substrate and comprising: an elastic element within said semiconductor substrate; a frame formed around said elastic element and coupled with at least part of the periphery of said elastic element all within the substrate; at least one rigid island element formed in the substrate, coupled with the elastic element and separated from the frame by a closed trench; at least three stress sensitive IC circuits located in the elastic element for providing electrical output signals proportional to the mechanical stress in the location of the IC circuits; at least one rigid force-transferring element coupled to the rigid island of the sensor die for transferring an external vector force through the rigid island and the elastic element to the IC circuits, which provide electrical output signal; wherein the rigid force-transferring element comprises at least one channel positioned relative to the closed trench, and at least part of the closed trench around the rigid island is filled in with a compressible material through the at least one channel for improving mechanical overload protection, and the rigid force-transferring element has external dimensions in a plane of the semiconductor substrate that are greater than external dimensions of the closed trench.