Patent ID: 7654147

Claim:
Sensor arrangement for detecting the application of an operator's body part to an actuating point of a locking device of a motor vehicle, with a proximity sensor which is disposed in such a way that the proximity sensor can detect the proximity of the operator's body part to the actuating point, with a mechanical sensor which is disposed on the actuating point and can detect a change in the pressing force exerted on the actuating point by the operator's body part, and with an evaluation circuit which as a function of the sensor output signals from the proximity sensor and the mechanical sensor can generate an output signal which indicates the application of the operator's body part, characterised in that when the sensor output signal from the mechanical sensor indicates the start of the application of the operator's body part the evaluation circuit uses a sensor output signal value which is output at approximately the same time by the proximity sensor for evaluation of the subsequent changes in the sensor output signal of the proximity sensor in order to be able to detect more reliably that the operator's body part has been withdrawn from the actuating point.